Four States asked to monitor hotspots to curb pollution

New Delhi : An anti-pollution task force has asked four NCR states, including Delhi, to closely monitor their pollution hotspots and strictly implement the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to curb the malady.

The Central Pollution Control Board task force also asked Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan to submit it and the Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority the weekly reports on implementation of anti-pollution measures.

At a review meeting on Friday, the 10-member CPCB task force on the GRAP, which lists measures to be followed according to air pollution levels in the Delhi-NCR region, asked the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to ensure immediate action for paving of roads and controlling dust emission in industrial areas.

The task force asked the pollution control boards of the four states to monitor industrial areas for emissions as well as dumping and burning of waste. CPCB Member Secretary Prashant Gargava asked them to seek daily reports from implementing agencies and ensure penalization and prosecution of defaulting agencies if needed.

It also recommended undertaking a special drive for clearing municipal solid waste (MSW), and "construction and demolition (C&D)" of waste in 10 days. "Power distribution companies may be requested to maintain uninterrupted power supply to prevent the use of diesel generator sets in the winter," the CPCB task force suggested.

During the meeting, the DPCC told the task force that night patrolling, especially in industrial areas, will be initiated from October 1 and all industrial units will switch to piped natural gas by October 31.

The DPCC has initiated action at 13 pollution hotspots in the national capital, its Member Secretary Arun Mishra told the CPCB taskforce. The representatives of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan informed the task force about action being taken for dust mitigation, and the management of MSW and C&D waste.

The states said they were maintaining a constant vigil, besides monitoring complaints on social media and have deputed guards to prevent open burning of garbage.