NEW DELHI: The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and Adjoining Areas conducted the 123rd meeting of the Enforcement Task Force (ETF) on Wednesday to review the inspection activities carried out across the NCR since December 22 last year.
Flying squads of the commission conducted extensive inspections over the 16 days across key sectors known for air pollution, including industries, diesel generator (DG) sets, construction & demolition (C&D) activities, road dust, and incidents related to biomass burning & the accumulation of municipal solid waste. Inspections were carried out at 152 industrial units, 23 DG sets and 33 C&D sites. Additionally, joint inspection drives focusing on road dust were conducted on December 24 and 26 last year and on January 5.
Around 400 road stretches under the jurisdiction of Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Public Works Department (PWD), Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and Noida Authority were inspected for the intensity of visible dust. Among these, about 47 stretches were found with high dust levels, 105 with medium dust levels, 151 with low dust levels, and 97 stretches were found with no visible dust.
A special inspection drive was conducted on January 2 in Haryana’s Nuh district in coordination with the district Administration. The drive was carried out by 10 flying squads, during which 105 inspections were undertaken. Further, special joint inspection drives were conducted in Delhi to check incidents of biomass and municipal solid waste burning and waste accumulation on December 30 last year and January 5.
Through these inspections, 66 instances of biomass burning and 54 instances of waste accumulation were reported. In addition to that, biomass burning was observed mainly near tea stalls, shops and open grounds, largely for heating purposes, including in a few cases by homeless individuals.
However, no incidents of municipal solid waste burning were observed during the inspections. Based on the inspection findings, major violations and instances of non-compliance were identified, and necessary corrective actions including issuance of closure directions is being done, the CAQM said.
Focus on select sectors
Flying squads of the commission conducted extensive inspections over 16 days across sectors known for air pollution like industries, diesel generator sets, construction & demolition activities, road dust, and incidents related to biomass burning. & the accumulation of municipal solid waste.