Pollution control in NCR a failure

According to a recent report by an international NGO, Ghaziabad is the second most polluted city in the world, while Noida is sixth.

According to a recent report by an international NGO, Ghaziabad is the second most polluted city in the world, while Noida is sixth. This is despite tall claims made by departments of both cities that complaints were regularly addressed and many steps were taken to control pollution.

A man wears a pollution mask amid heavy smog, in Noida, India, on Tuesday, November 13,2018. (Photo: Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times)

Officials, however, said that real time statistics are monitored differently from parameters used in the report compiled by environmental NGO Greenpeace. Interestingly, the PM2.5 values in the Greenpeace report are much higher than those in the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) data. The officials still claim that the report’s comparison with other cities across the globe cannot be verified.

The average PM2.5 value in 2017 was 144.6 mg/m3 for Ghaziabad and 134 for Noida, according to the world air quality report by Greenpeace and Airvisual.

The PM2.5 value for the same period according to CPCB data was 322 for Ghaziabad and 140 for Noida.

“While these are absolute figures, we have a set standard for measurement and there is no comparative data with other cities across the world according to our standards. Also, we are not sure about the sourcing of the private report or some of the parameters based on which they have calculated the data,” Ashok Tiwary, regional officer of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), Ghaziabad, said.

According to Tiwary, Ghaziabad has been complying with all standards prescribed by the graded action response plan (GRAP) and three new automatic air quality monitoring stations have recently been installed in the city for better monitoring of data.

Since Diwali last year, the air quality index has been frequently slipping to the “poor” to “severe” category. There has been no “good” air day since July. Several complaints were also made through social media and other online platforms regarding air pollution across the city.

According to CPCB data, the top causes of pollution in Ghaziabad were open dumping of garbage, construction/demolition activity, open/garbage burning, unpaved roads/pits and traffic congestion. In Noida, the biggest culprits have been construction/demolition activity, open dumping of garbage, unpaved roads/pits, traffic congestion and leaf/open garbage burning.

Officials have also said that major infrastructure projects such as the construction of a National Highway in Ghaziabad and the work on the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCCIL) in Gautam Budh Nagar are some of the biggest polluters in the region, emanating large amounts of dust pollution during construction and not keeping the building material covered.

Officials maintained that regular action is taken against polluters and that NCR cities have been proactive in controlling pollution levels by ensuring that local factors don’t add to air pollution.

“While the report enlists Noida as among the worst in the world, it is still the best performer in the region. It is also the only city to prosecute and arrest violators. The parameters of comparison in this report are unclear and we cannot comment on it,” B N Singh, district magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar, said