GURUGRAM: In total, construction sites are not minor contributors to dust pollution and monitoring them is necessary to the effort to clean the air.
There are a lot of construction sites of a large size in Gurugram, but only 30 of them are listed on the portal. It’s required for all construction sites more than 500 square meters to set up PM2.5 or PM10 sensors, which send a live feed to the exit following CAQM’s directives.
However, for all the operational readiness, government agencies demonstrate if they are implementing the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) begins Here’s a real test – just 1 per cent of the cities with construction facilities of 500 square meters or more have been registered with the portal that was set up to aid in dust control.
Buildings in Gurugram have registered on portals to control dust
There are about 3,000 big construction projects in Gurugram; however, only 30 are listed on the portal. It’s required for all construction sites more significant than 500 sqm to set up PM2.5 or PM10 sensors, which send a live feed directly to the site, by CAQM guidelines.
Yet, no important construction project has been put on these sensors within Gurugram as of yet, according to the Haryana State, Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) declared.
The absence of urgency, in stark contrast to the method used to reduce air pollution source after source, appears to be due to the pollution control board’s inability to set a date for registration.
Construction sites aren’t registered on the site because HSPCB hasn’t established the date for registration nor specified the penalty for anyone who doesn’t sign up, even though it has been made compulsory.
“It is mandatory for the sites with an area of 500sqm or more to register on the portal,” acknowledged P Raghavendra Rao, the HSPCB chairperson.
Sandeep Singh, the HSPCB regional official in charge of Gurugram
Sandeep Singh, the HSPCB regional official in charge of Gurugram (south), stated that only a few construction sites in Gurugram have registered in the portal. None of them has set up PM2.5 and PM10 sensors.
When asked how the pollution control body examines the pollutant levels at construction sites.
He explained: “Once the construction sites register on the portal, we should check if builders are following all dust control measures like including covering construction material, waste and using water sprinklers and anti-smog guns to not allow more dust emissions.
Haryana State, Pollution Control Board (HSPCB)
The board is focused on sites that have areas of more than 20,000 sqm, HSPCB officials said. “We have informed the local civic agencies about sensitizing construction sites in their respective areas for registration and installation of sensors,” said Kuldeep Singh, Regional official of Gurugram (north).
He also said that construction sites are provided with an inventory of the conformance of dust mitigation measures which will be monitored via the portal.
The dust-control actions list includes using anti-smog guns, water cannons, fire hydrants, hoses and sprinklers.
In January, Haryana Government launched real-time monitoring of pollution levels in demolition and construction places.
The portal provides live dashboards that reflect air quality at particular construction sites. The CAQM’s guidelines created the exit on the 1st of October 2021.
The CAQM guidance stated, “All projects (on plots of land equal to or more than 500 sqm) of demolition and construction within NCR must be registered through the web portal.
In addition, the provision of video fencing by remote connection technology is included in the doorway to allow efficient and continuous monitoring of the dust mitigation measures implemented by the developers of the project.
Additionally, the project’s developers must install cost-effective and reliable PM2.5 and PM10 sensors on the locations.
Project proponents must install cost-effective and reliable PM2.5 and PM10 sensors on the sites and connect these sensors with a system with live dashboard access for the pollutant control panel that will monitor the actions.”