New Delhi: The Commission for Air Quality Management on Saturday (October 29) decided to implement measures under stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan in view of the worsening air quality in the Delhi-NCR. These are the measures prescribed under stage III.
1. Ban on all construction and demolition activities, barring essential projects and services concerning national security, defence, healthcare, railways, airports, metro rail, interstate bus terminus, highways, roads, flyovers, power transmission, pipelines among others. Mining activities will also not be allowed in the region.
2. The ban on construction and demolition activities also covers earthwork for excavation, boring and drilling; fabrication and welding operations; loading and unloading of construction material; transfer of raw material, including fly ash, either manually or through conveyor belts and vehicular movement on unpaved roads.
3. Stage III also bans the operation of batching plants; laying of sewer lines, waterline, drainage work and electric cabling through open trench system; cutting and fixing of tiles, stones and other flooring materials; grinding activities; piling work; water proofing work; road construction and repair works, including paving of sidewalks, pathways and central verges among others.
4. States may impose restrictions on the use of BS III petrol and BS IV diesel four-wheelers in the NCR considering the worsening air quality. This direction is non-binding on authorities.
5. Brick kilns, hot mix plants and stone crushers not operating on clean fuels, and mining and associated activities in the NCR have also been banned.
6. Industries not running on approved fuels in industrial areas having PNG infrastructure and supply have to be shut down.
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7. In industrial areas not having PNG infrastructure and supply, industries not using approved fuels can operate only for five days a week.
Paper and pulp processing, distilleries and captive thermal power plants to remain inoperative on Saturdays and Sundays. Paddy/rice processing units to remain inoperative on Mondays and Tuesdays. Textile/garments and apparels including dyeing processes to remain inoperative on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Other industries not falling in the above noted categories to remain inoperative on Fridays and Saturdays.
8. Milk and dairy units and those involved in manufacturing of life-saving medical equipment, drugs and medicines have been exempt from the restrictions.
9. Under stage III, frequency of mechanised/vacuum-based sweeping of roads has to be intensified.
10. Authorities are required to sprinkle water and use dust suppressants, before peak traffic hours, on roads, hotspots, heavy traffic corridors and dispose of the collected dust at designated sites or landfills.
11. Authorities are required to intensify public transport services and introduce differential rates to encourage off peak travel.
Also Read: Delhi PM2.5 Pollution In Winters Has Dipped 20 Per Cent Compared To Pre-Pandemic Period: Report
(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 the 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, which 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 diarrhoea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
