Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has said that any kind of negligence in pollution control will not be tolerated in the national capital. He said his government was considering pollution as an emergency mission and was making determined efforts to bring it under control.
The Chief Minister made it clear on Wednesday that government institutions lax in pollution control will not be spared. Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has been directed to issue challans and impose heavy fines on agencies that do not follow pollution and cleanliness standards. He has also ordered to register FIR against those departments which cut the road unauthorizedly and do not repair the roads properly.
A high-level review meeting on pollution control was held under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister in Delhi Secretariat. In the meeting, the ongoing measures against air pollution were reviewed and all departments were instructed to work on war footing in the coming days.
Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Chief Secretary Rajeev Verma and senior officials of Public Works Department, MCD, DDA, Environment and Forest, DSIIDC, Delhi Metro, NBCC, Electricity and DUSIB attended the meeting. The Chief Minister stressed that the long-term fight against pollution will continue, but immediate measures should be intensified.
All departments have been instructed to identify the potholes and fill them within 72 hours. Road maintenance agencies have been instructed to ensure that no road remains broken. The Chief Minister expressed strong displeasure over the irresponsibility of some departments and directed the DPCC to issue challans against negligent government bodies.
He further said that FIRs should be lodged against departments that cut roads without permission and departmental heads should be held accountable. He reiterated that no agency, whether government or private, will be spared. He stressed that joint participation of the government, departments and the public is necessary to deal with the problem of pollution.
The Public Works Department has been directed to repair potholes on priority basis across its 1,400 km long road network and upload before and after photographs on the specified app. DDA has been directed to ensure proper cleanliness of its roads, remove garbage from vacant lands and hand over its markets to MCD without any delay.
Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the “311 Green App” is being strengthened as a nodal platform for monitoring potholes, brown areas and dust hotspots through the Green War Room. A comprehensive six-month action plan is being prepared to implement dust-free and green measures in the identified brownfield areas.
He further said that strict action will be taken against vehicles not meeting BS-IV standards. E-autos will be given priority to improve last mile connectivity and promote the use of metro. He said the mist-spray dust mitigation has yielded good results and will now be implemented across the city. The MCD has been directed to make its 8,000-km long road network pothole-free and dust-free. One thousand vacuum-based garbage collectors and 100 mechanical road sweepers will be deployed within 45 days. A target has also been set to clean most of the garbage bins in Delhi in the coming months.
All construction sites must ensure fencing within 48 hours and adherence to pollution control norms. The Environment Minister stressed that it is everyone’s responsibility to keep Delhi clean and pollution free and strict action will be taken against any agency or industry violating the rules.