Delhi Government Launches Anti-dust Campaign, Issues Direction for Construction Sites

New Delhi, May 8: The Delhi government launched an anti-dust campaign in the national capital on Monday. The campaign will run till June 8. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Monday chaired a review meeting with all the departments regarding the campaign.

"Air pollution in Delhi is improving steadily due to the stringent steps taken by the Delhi government under the leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The government's efforts have resulted in a decline of 30 per cent in air pollution levels in Delhi from 2016 to 2022-23," Gopal Rai said. Delhi Air Pollution: Experts Warn of Respiratory Issues As Toxic Levels Rise in Air Due to Fog.

With the initiation of the Real-Time Source Appreciation Study by the Delhi government, the minister said it has become clear that the factors contributing to pollution vary in winter and summer. During winter, pollution is largely caused by fluctuations in the weather. This includes stubble burning, firecrackers, exhaust from vehicles and open fires. On the other hand, in summer, pollution mainly occurs due to dust, mountains of garbage and fire in bushes, he said. Delhi Air Pollution: GRAP Stage III Invoked in Delhi-NCR, Non-Essential Construction and Demolition Work Banned.

"Conversely, during summer, pollution primarily results from dust, heaps of waste, and wildfires. Consequently, to address the issue of pollution during the summer months, the Chief Minister unveiled a 14-point summer action plan on May 1. To bring further improvement in air pollution in Delhi, as a part of summer action plan, our government is starting the anti-dust campaign in Delhi for the next one month from May 8, ie from today," Rai said.

Under the anti-dust campaign, he said 235 patrolling teams of 629 personnel and 165 patrolling teams of 433 personnel at night from 13 departments have been deployed for inspection all over Delhi. These teams will operate round the clock to observe and avert occurrences of dust pollution in Delhi. Their report will also be shared with the environment department and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) from time to time.

The environment minister also stated, "Dust pollution arising from construction sites proves to be very harmful for the health of the people. To address this issue, the construction and demolition portal was introduced. All construction sites that cover an area of 500 sq m or more are required to self-register on this portal. Presently, there are 750 registered sites on this portal."

He said the aim of this campaign is to ensure that all active construction and demolition sites are registered on the portal. DPCC will examine the self-assessment reports of all registered sites on the portal. For this, instructions have been issued to the departments to continuously monitor the construction sites.

"To achieve this, the relevant departments have been instructed to monitor construction sites regularly. If construction sites violate any rules, the department will take appropriate action as per the NGT directions," the minister added.

He said that 84 mechanical road sweeping (MRS) machines, 609 water sprinklers and 185 mobile anti-smog guns have been deployed across Delhi to prevent dust pollution. Regarding dust pollution, earlier there was a rule to install anti-smog guns only on construction sites above 20,000 sq m. Now, on the basis of the new rules, it has been made mandatory to install anti-smog guns at the construction site of an area of 5000 sq m and above, Rai stated.

As per the directions, one anti-smog gun at the construction site measuring 5,000-10,000 sq m, two anti-smog guns at those construction sites measuring 10,000-15,000 sq m, three anti-smog guns at 15,000-20,000 square metre construction sites and at least four anti-smog guns at construction sites above 20,000 sq m will be mandatory.

Through a special campaign, Rai said the sources of air pollution in all 13 hotspots will be detected on the basis of real-time apportionment study on a daily basis. The designated officers in those locations will be notified of the primary sources of pollution in their vicinity. This information will be disseminated to facilitate prompt remedial measures.

He further added that 70 integrated mechanical road sweeping (MRS) machines and 250 integrated water sprinkler machines will be procured soon to prevent road pollution.

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