Air 'very poor': CAQM teams inspect 140 sites; builders approach SC against ban
New Delhi: Even as the air quality in Delhi remained "very poor" on Sunday with an AQI of 305 — despite the construction ban in force, a builders' body has now moved the Supreme Court against the ban seeking a "re-evaluation" of the policy after looking at source apportionment studies.
The air quality reading in Faridabad was AQI 296, Ghaziabad at AQI 288, Gurgaon at AQI 174 and Noida at AQI 273.
Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 11.4 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season's normal on Sunday, according to the India Meteorological Department. The weather office had predicted partly cloudy sky and very
light rain towards Sunday evening or night but the city was yet to see any of it till late at night.
The Developers and Builders Forum, a body of more than 60 builders, contended that they use the latest construction technology so as to reduce dust pollution and adhere to the laid-down norms. They said they were not consulted for this and pleaded that such blanket bans adversely affect smaller sites that do not in any manner cause large-scale pollution.
The builders' body has challenged the November 24 order by which the apex court re-imposed the ban on construction activities in Delhi-NCR, following which the CAQM had re-imposed the ban as per the SC order. The plea is likely to be mentioned today.
Meanwhile, the CAQM has already created the Enforcement Task Force as suggested by the top court — further creating 40 flying squads across the NCR areas that have already inspected 140 construction and demolition sites to check for compliance of dust and pollution control norms.
Twelve inspection teams each have been constituted for the NCR districts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi, while four teams have been deputed in the national capital region (NCR) districts of Rajasthan, the CAQM said, adding that the 140 sites inspected are being compiled to see if they check all pollution control requirements, following which, if found violations, action will be taken. The ETF has been holding exhaustive review meetings with the 40 flying squads. These teams have been inspecting industrial units, construction and demolition sites, commercial and residential units, air pollution hotspots, etc. and reporting to the commission daily, the CAQM said.
Moreover, as part of its crackdown on those violating anti-pollution norms, the Delhi Traffic Police issued 108,004 challans in the last two months for related offences. The crackdown was undertaken to execute the Delhi government's Winter Action Plan against rising air pollution.
According to the data shared by the Delhi Traffic Police, 32,343 of the total challans from October 1 to November 30 were issued for vehicles without valid pollution under control (PUC) certificates. A total of 1,866 challans were issued and 1,104 old vehicles impounded for those found running beyond the permitted 10 years (for diesel vehicles) and 15 years (for petrol-run vehicles).
