Ban off, CAQM presses for remote self-monitoring of construction sites in NCR
New Delhi: Even as the ban on construction activities was lifted, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the NCR and Adjoining Areas is now pressing for video-based self-monitoring of construction and demolition sites by asking governments of Rajasthan and Haryana to immediately finish setting up their portals for the same. Meanwhile, governments in Delhi and UP have been directed to ensure all qualifying sites are mandatorily registered on their portals.
In the works since January this year, the Commission has been pressing for governments in the NCR to develop a web portal where all construction and demolition sites above 500 sqm must register. This was meant to ensure that all such registered sites install "video fencing" techniques and self-monitoring mechanisms for measuring pollutant levels in real-time — so that fines and violations can be monitored and acted upon in real-time.
However, while the Delhi and UP governments had set up their portals early this winter, the governments of Rajasthan and Haryana have been dragging their feet on it.
In the order lifting the ban on construction activities, the Commission directed Rajasthan and Haryana to ensure their respective portals are set up by January 20 next year. This comes after multiple written and oral reminders to both the states in the last few months, despite which the states kept saying they were working on it, officials aware of developments had told Millennium Post.
The Commission went on to direct Rajasthan and Haryana that till the portals are set up, "drives for field-level inspections and monitoring of such C&D sites (Construction and Demolition sites) need to be intensified for compliance of various statutory provisions".
Meanwhile, the CAQM has directed the governments in Delhi and UP to ensure that all construction and demolition sites within their jurisdictions qualifying for remote self-monitoring, should be mandatorily registered on their web portals.
However, while lifting the ban on construction activities, the Commission said that this would not apply to sites that have already been found violating mandatory dust-control and anti-pollution norms and have been shut down for the same.
After setting the wheels in motion for the project in January this year, the Commission had sent a first reminder to Delhi, UP, Rajasthan and Haryana in June, saying they were yet to submit action-taken reports on setting up the portal. Following this, on October 1, the CAQM again issued a public directive asking the four NCR states to install the system.
This initiative makes sure that all registered construction sites have video fencing and low-cost emissions measuring devices with a feed to the local pollution control board — displaying real-time PM2.5 and PM10 levels at any given site.
Once set up, the portals' resources are supposed to be available to the CPCB and enforcement agencies for remote monitoring. In addition, pollution control authorities are meant to conduct surprise visits to check for compliance.
