New Delhi: Amid deteriorating air quality in Delhi, authorities have asked 113 industries to shut for not converting to Piped Natural Gas (PNG), an official statement said Monday. Of the 113 units, 67 are located in Bawana and Narela industrial areas, it said. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), currently in Delhi, the Air Quality Index (AQI), stands at 348 which comes under ‘very poor’ category with PM 2.5 and PM 10 being the major pollutant. In nearby areas like Gurugram, and Ghaziabad, AQI has already reached a ‘severe’ level that is between 400-500. The 24-hour safe standard for PM 2.5 is 25 μg/m3 and PM 10 is 50 μg/m3 24-hour mean.
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In a meeting chaired by Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal here, officials told the LG that 1,368 show cause notices and 417 closure directions have been issued against polluting units by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). The meeting was attended by Environment Minister Imran Hussain, Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) chairman Bhure Lal and other senior officials.
It was further informed that closure directions have been issued to 113 industries which have not converted to PNG, the LG office said in a statement.
It stated that DPCC officials informed Mr. Baijal that the committee has deputed “environment marshals” for night patrolling in Bawana, Narela, Mundka, Nangloi, Punjabi Bagh, Dwarka, Anand Vihar, Bhalaswa SLF and Ghazipur SLF.
The LG has directed more deployment of environmental marshals keeping in mind emergent air pollution condition.
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NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.
