NEW DELHI: Three months after the Delhi government announced that it would distribute electric heaters to Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) to discourage open burning during winter, none of the units have reached the ground, residents’ groups across the city said.
The assurance was made in September by Environment Minister Majinder Singh Sirsa, who had said that 3,000 heaters would be provided through the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) as part of a push to reduce winter air pollution. With temperatures dipping to 8.7°C in recent days, RWAs say they are struggling to prevent security guards and domestic workers from lighting small fires to stay warm.
Many stress that they have not received heaters or even official communication on how the distribution would take place. “None of the RWAs in Rajinder Nagar has received any heaters so far,” said Arvind Mehta, President of the Joint Forum of Residents, Rajinder Nagar. He said residents had constructed small wooden cabins for security guards to shield them from the cold, but many continue to light fires on roadsides. Mehta also alleged that other pollution-control measures were missing.
“No dust control measures, no smog guns are frequent here. As a result, despite being surrounded by the ridge on three sides, pollution levels are still very high in Rajinder Nagar.” The idea itself may be unworkable, RWA representatives said. Saurabh Gandhi, general secretary of United Residents of Delhi (URD), said none of the RWAs in their network had received heaters nor any official intimation regarding distribution. “I don’t think the idea is practical. It would work only in places where the RWA has a guard room. You need an enclosed space with an electricity connection. Guard rooms are uncommon. Only some posh colonies in South Delhi would have these,” he said.
Even in cases where guard rooms existed, many lacked electrical connections, he added. “Also, there are 25 guards in my RWA. How will one heater suffice?” DSIIDC officials declined to comment on the status of allocation or distribution.