Air 'satisfactory'; fines of Rs 90 lakh on dust polluters

New Delhi: Scattered rainfall over the national capital significantly brought down the dust pollution level, keeping the city's air quality index in the 'satisfactory' category at 82, authorities said on Tuesday.

Land surfaces are wet and therefore, dust re-suspension is minimum, leading to low PM 10 pollutant, said the

Ministry of Earth Sciences' forecast body SAFAR. PM10 is particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometers and is inhalable into the lungs. These particles include dust, pollen and mold spores.

The presence of western disturbance has led to scattered rainfall over north India and low biomass burning, the

System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said.

"This condition improved the AQI (air quality index) with low PM 2.5. With dry condition (no rain), and wind direction mainly from north-west, AQI will degrade to satisfactory for the next 72 hours for Delhi," it said, adding that the impact of stubble burning on the city's air quality was low.

According to data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), 562 farm fires were recorded collectively in six regions or "study states" with Punjab accounting for 496 farm fires, Haryana for 55, five each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, and one in Madhya Pradesh, while no farm fire was recorded in Delhi.

And with the rains helping efforts in Delhi to control dust pollution, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee has now inspected 1,105 different construction sites under the Delhi government's anti-dust campaign, following which it found norms being flouted at 286 construction sites.

While the DPCC has issued notices to all violators, it has also imposed fines worth Rs 90 lakh on violators so far, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Tuesday.

"All agencies should take up construction work following the guidelines issued by the Delhi Government related to construction work, so that the fight against pollution can be carried forward strongly," Rai said, adding that his government will not spare any polluter from consequences.

The minister added that all checking teams on the ground have been directed to submit daily reports.

In addition, the Delhi government has now started

to take strict action against motorists found without valid pollution under control certificates.