Minister wants device in Assembly to measure ‘noise pollution by Oppn’
Kolkata: State Environment minister Md Ghulam Rabbani proposed to Speaker Biman Banerjee to install a “Noise and Air Pollution Monitoring Machine” at their own cost inside the state legislative Assembly so that legislators, particularly the Opposition, have an idea of the noise pollution caused due to their sloganeering and shouting in the House and Assembly premises.
“The West Bengal Pollution Control Board operates nearly 200 sensor-based continuous monitoring stations across the state. I have proposed the installation of a noise and air pollution monitoring device in the Assembly so that the MLAs, particularly the Opposition, realise how much noise pollution they create in the name of protest. We are people’s representatives and we have to set an example for the common people,” said Rabbani.
Assembly sources said the Speaker is open to the idea of installing such a machine within the Assembly premises. During the recently concluded monsoon session and also in the previous session, the BJP MLAs have frequently resorted to walkouts from the House and shouted slogans.
A WBPCB official said that this noise monitoring device is not capable of detecting the voice of the legislators but the real-time level of noise and air pollution will be featured on the board.
“If we need to identify the voice then a separate voice detecting device will have to be attached but for that all the MLAs will have to give their voice samples which will be fed into the device,” added the official. “The Speaker, who is supposed to be neutral, always favours the ruling party. If they follow the rules, we will participate in every assembly proceeding,” a senior BJP legislator said.