New Delhi [India], July 21 (ANI): The 135th meeting of the Enforcement Task Force (ETF) of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and Adjoining Areas, held on Monday, reviewed enforcement actions, inspections and compliance status across the National Capital Region (NCR) for the reporting period from July 1 to July 13.
During the 14 days, the Commission’s Flying Squads carried out 175 inspections covering 17 Construction and Demolition (C&D) sites, 90 industrial units and 68 Diesel Generator (DG) set-related inspections, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Based on reported violations, proposals have been made for closure of one project/industry, sealing of 19 DG sets, issuance of nine compliance orders/directions and imposition of Environmental Compensation (EC) in four cases.
The Enforcement Task Force also reviewed action taken on decisions of the 134th ETF meeting and noted that all actionable cases related to the industrial sector, C&D sector and DG sets have been acted upon by the concerned agencies. A total of 25 resumption orders have been issued after verification of compliance, including two in Delhi, 11 in Haryana, 10 in Uttar Pradesh and two in Rajasthan.
According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the meeting also reviewed the cumulative enforcement status, as on Monday. It noted that the Commission’s Flying Squads have so far inspected 27,925 units, projects and entities. Based on these inspections, 1,803 closure directions have been issued, of which 1,446 resumption orders have been granted after verification of compliance. In addition, 126 cases have been transferred to the respective State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) for final decision, while 231 entities remain under examination for issuance of resumption orders.
The ETF further reviewed the status of road redevelopment works undertaken by Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam in accordance with the Commission’s Standard Framework. The inspection covered 42 road stretches spanning approximately nine kilometres, comprising roads with a Right of Way (RoW) of less than 10 metres. All the inspected road stretches were found to have complete end-to-end paving, indicating full compliance with the Standard Framework. The Commission emphasised that adoption of the Standard Framework by all road-owning agencies across Delhi-NCR remains essential for long-term mitigation of road dust and directed that all ongoing and future road redevelopment works be undertaken in strict conformity with it.
The Commission reiterated the need to strengthen enforcement mechanisms, ensure timely verification of compliance, improve coordination among implementing agencies and strictly enforce prescribed norms for air pollution abatement across NCR. It also stressed the importance of enhancing inspection efficiency, ensuring accountability and expediting enforcement action in priority sectors, including industrial emissions, DG sets and C&D activities. (ANI)
Related reading
