Ward-Wise Teams Set Up To Combat Pollution, Special Focus On Anand Vihar: Official

New Delhi: Ward-wise teams of officials drawn from various departments of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation have been set up to ensure compliance of norms for combating pollution, with a special focus on hotspot area of Anand Vihar, its mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal said on Saturday (October 16). A total of 64 teams have been constituted, including members from works department, department of environment management services (DEMS), and horticulture department, among others, he said.

Also Read: Air Pollution Linked To Nearly Six Million Preterm Births Globally: Study

These teams, set up about a week ago, do regular inspections and take actions accordingly. The works department anyway is imposing challans on violators, and these special teams will try to ensure compliance of norms for combating pollution, Mr Aggarwal told PTI.

Violations include not putting up curtains at construction or demolition sites leading to dust pollution, burning of leaves and garbage or other kinds of waste. The air quality of the city was in the ‘poor’ category on Saturday morning with an air quality index (AQI) of 244, real-time data of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’. Air quality in the national capital was recorded in the ‘moderate’ category on Thursday but it was expected to deteriorate over the next two days with a rise in farm fire incidents in Punjab and Haryana.

Also Read: Air Pollution One Of The Biggest Environmental Threats To Human Health, Says WHO, Toughens Guidelines

There are two zones — Shahdara (North) and Shahdara (South) — under the jurisdiction of the EDMC, spanning 64 wards. The city has several air pollution hotspots, including the Anand Vihar area in east Delhi, which is also a major transport hub with an ISBT, train station and a metro station at one location.

The streets leading to this hub often get congested during peak hours of road traffic, leading to worsening of air quality index due to vehicular emissions. East Delhi Mayor Aggarwal said the teams will lay a “special focus on hotspot area of Anand Vihar” where the pollution level is generally higher.

Our teams will keep a vigilant eye on the hotspot and alert EDMC authorities for appropriate actions so that pollution level can be checked. Besides, the aim is to also reduce dust generation or sedimentation, so horticulture department will ensure regular cleaning of trees and shrubs too, he said.

The mayor claimed that 40 machines, equipped with sprinklers, are deployed across east Delhi during morning and evening for cleaning purposes. In Anand Vihar area, the frequency of carrying out cleaning activities is “higher, as it’s a hotspot area”, he added.

Our works department has been imposing challans on violators, in pursuance of the directives of the NGT (National Green Tribunal), and it will continue to take place, Mr Aggrawal added.

Also Read: Estimated 57,000 Premature Deaths In Delhi Last Year Can Be Attributed To Air Pollution: Greenpeace

With a view to curb pollution, the EDMC early this month had also issued an order whereby construction and demolition waste generated at sites of construction or renovation of buildings will have to be disposed at a designated waste processing plant only. Mr Aggarwal had then said that earlier 68 designated points were earmarked in the city for depositing C&D waste.

But, as per this new executive order, the owners or builders undertaking work related to construction or renovation at sites will have to dispose construction and demolition waste only at Shastri Park C&D waste processing plant, he said.

And, owners or builders will have to ferry the waste to the processing plant at their own cost, the mayor said. Violation of this order will invite “appropriate action” and “building plan may also be cancelled,” the EDMC had said. Dust generated from construction and demolition sites is one of the major causes of air pollution.

To combat air pollution in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had recently announced a 10-point “winter action plan” that focuses on dust control, using the Pusa bio-decomposer, installing smog towers and checking waste burning and vehicular emissions.

Also Read: India Needs To Make Its Air Quality Norms More Stringent, Say Experts After New WHO Guidelines

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity,  that is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.