Delhi Anti Dust Campaign: Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Saturday released a comprehensive 14-point construction guidelines as part of the city’s ‘Winter Action Plan’ to curb rising dust pollution during winters every year. He said the rules are aimed at tackling dust pollution from construction sites, which is a major cause of deterioration in the city’s air quality.
Gopal Rai, Environment Minister in the Delhi government, said, “We have made significant progress in reducing air pollution in Delhi, which has reduced by 34.6 percent in the last nine years.”
AAP government will defeat pollution with 21-point Winter Action Plan
👉Pollution has reduced by 34.60% due to the historic steps of Delhi government.
👉21 big steps including Work From Home will be taken to fight winter pollution. #AAPWinterActionPlanpic.twitter.com/B0tE1Tgcc9— Gulab Singh Yadav (@GulabMatiala) September 26, 2024
What’s in the Winter Plan Guidelines?
- However, pollution levels increase during winter, mainly due to dust emitted from construction activities. He said that our winter action plan, announced on September 25, focuses on 21 areas of concern, of which the anti-dust campaign is a key component.
- Highlighting the 14 points of the scheme, Rai said construction sites of more than 500 square meters will now have to register on the Construction and Demolition (C&D) portal, where compliance with environmental norms will be strictly monitored.
- He said heavy fines would be imposed on those not following the guidelines, while exemplary projects to curb pollution would be honored with ‘Harit Ratna’ awards.
- According to the rules, it is mandatory to cover all construction sites with tin sheets. So that dust can be prevented from spreading around.
- Gopal Rai, during his press conference, emphasized that, “People involved in any kind of construction work, whether private, government or company-run, should ensure compliance with these rules.”
- All construction areas will have to be surrounded with tin sheets, tires of vehicles carrying construction material must be clean and materials like sand and gravel must be covered so that dust does not spread on the roads.
- He said that regular spraying of water at construction sites is mandatory to control dust. Workers should be provided with masks and health kits to protect them from dust at all times.
- Delhi government will run an anti-dust campaign for a month from October 7 to monitor compliance. 523 teams of 13 departments have also been deployed to monitor this. He said that these teams will inspect the construction sites round the clock and ensure that the new norms are being followed to prevent dust pollution.
- These teams will be working round the clock and will submit regular reports to the Environment Department and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).
- He said that under the winter action plan to deal with pollution in the capital, the anti-dust campaign will run from October 7 to November 7.
- The guidelines include mandatory installation of anti-smog guns at large construction sites, covering materials to prevent dust and regular water sprinkling.
- Violations will result in a fine ranging from Rs 7,500 to Rs 2 lakh per day, depending on the scale of the project. Apart from site inspections, the government will deploy 85 mechanical road sweeping (MRS) machines and 500 water spraying equipment across the city.
- In November, 200 mobile anti-smog guns will be operated to tackle the problem of pollution on Delhi’s roads, which will work in three shifts.
- He told that fine will be imposed for violating the rules. For not registering on the C&D portal, a fine of Rs 1 lakh will be imposed on construction projects with an area of less than 20,000 square meters and Rs 2 lakh on construction projects with an area of more than 20,000 square meters.
- A fine of Rs 7,500 will be imposed per day for not installing anti-smog guns.
- For not taking dust control measures at construction sites, a fine of Rs 7,500 per day will be imposed on construction projects with area less than 500 square meters and Rs 15,000 per day on construction projects with area more than that.
- It is necessary to cover vehicles carrying construction material. For violating this, a fine of Rs 7,500 will be imposed.