A project to control air pollution from dispersed sources focusing on winters will be implemented in Delhi, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the NCR and adjoining areas said on Tuesday.
The CAQM in association with the NGO, Air Pollution Group (A-PAG) had initiated a pilot project with the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) in December 2020. “The pilot project has now been completed. The project identified a total of 17,290 issues in 104 wards of the SDMC and successfully resolved 95 per cent of the issues,” the CAQM said. “Based on the outcomes of the pilot, the project for control of air pollution from non-point dispersed sources will now be replicated and up-scaled in the NMC, EDMC and the NDMC area from October 27,” it added.
According to CAQM officials, the pilot project was successful in identifying about 17,290 issues in 104 wards of South DMC, out of which 10,900 (63 per cent) of the issues pertain to the SDMC and the rest 6,400 (37 per cent) issues have been assigned to other agencies. “Under this pilot project, SDMC has successfully resolved 95 per cent of the issues pertaining to its own jurisdiction,” it added.
The major pollution sources addressed under this pilot project are: garbage dump sites, overflowing dhalaos, burning of garbage, construction & demolition sites, debris dumped on public land, road dust from unpaved roads, barren lands, industrial emissions, vehicular pollution etc.
“Viewing the need for technological advancement as the most crucial step towards transforming the whole complaint redressal process, SDMC with technological support of A-PAG brought enhancements to the SDMC’s 311 Live Dashboard and upgraded it into an advanced ‘Smart City 311 App’ for efficient and effective monitoring of dispersed sources of air pollution,” it added further.