Delhi bathed in dust, norms openly flouted

HT spot check across national capital finds violations of govt’s winter action plan

- Gargi Shukla and Aaditya Khatwani

Dust pollution control norms as well as the regulations related to disposal of construction and demolition waste are being openly flouted across the city, leaving surrounding areas covered in clouds of dust, an HT spot check has found.

Under its winter action plan, the Delhi government has mandated strict enforcement of 12-point dust-control norms, including green net scaffolding of project sites, covering of construction material, regular sprinkling of water on unpaved areas, as well as presence of functional anti-smog guns at larger sites. Additionally, all larger construction projects require registration and there has been a large-scale deployment of water sprinklers across the city.

The rules also say that vehicles carrying construction material and construction debris should be fully covered, and construction material should not be kept on roads or pavements.

However, despite repeated directions issued by Delhi government and a reduction in the number of self-compliance measures construction firms must follow earlier this year, an HT spot check in areas from east to west and north to south, including Sarojini Nagar, Ashram, Ghanta Ghar, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi, Preet Vihar, Laxmi Nagar, Trilokpuri, and Geeta Colony, found that the rules were being blatantly disregarded.

Delhi's air quality index (AQI) has officially ranged between ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ since Diwali. According to the Central Pollution Control Board bulletins, particulate matter (PM)10 and PM2.5 are the lead pollutants.

On Wednesday, there was a marginal improvement to an increase in wind speed, with the CPCB data showing the 24-hour average AQI was 202 (poor) at 4pm, which further improved to at 197 (moderate) by 7pm.