NOIDA: The regional office of the
UP pollution control board in
Gautam Budh Nagar has written to the environment ministry seeking Rs 433.5 crore for upgrading infrastructure to curb pollution in Noida and
Greater Noida.
The proposal has already been given the go-ahead by the
Yogi Adityanath government and is awaiting a nod from the Centre for the funds.
Officials said the budgetary proposal was to upgrade various infrastructure to fight pollution, like extending the green cover and getting roads cleaned on a regular basis.
The proposal sent to the environment ministry includes around Rs 6.5 crore for improving the city’s air-quality monitoring system and Rs 195 crore for getting roads cleaned through mechanised sweeping. The proposal has also sought funds for procuring water-sprinklers for reducing dust, increasing the green cover through planting of more trees and also covering the roads with inter-locking tiles.
According to officials, the inter-locking tiles will allow water to percolate to the earth and ensure the concrete surface remained strong.
The district magistrate attributed the rising pollution levels to major expansion of realty projects in the twin cities over the past few years.
“We need to upgrade the available infrastructure for mitigating air-pollution levels in the twin cities. The pollution has mainly been caused by major infrastructure development, especially large-scale construction, in the past few years. Roads, metro, flyovers and apartments are all being built in the two cities. This has led to rising dust pollution levels. Measures to control the same also need to be enhanced,” said BN Singh, the district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar.
Officials said they had written both to the state government and the Centre in April this year about their plan to curb pollution levels.
The letters had cited extreme air-pollution levels in the twin cities, monitored and calibrated between November last year and February this year, as a basis for the augmented environmental measures. The post-Diwali period had shown an air-quality index (AQI) in Noida and Greater Noida region ranging between “very poor” and “severe” levels or above AQI 400. It reached a high of AQI 518 on November 7.
The proposal mentions the need for increasing the number of mechanised sweepers available in the twin cities. It also says that with the more number of such sweepers, the authorities plan to increase the network of roads to be covered from 201.27km to 698.48km.
It also proposes an increased network of water-sprinklers for tackling dust, increasing the green cover by developing vertical gardens and covering unpaved areas with green belt. It has also proposed covering of roadside stretches with inter-locking paver bricks and tiles.
Officials said the budget for the proposal includes funds for an increased number of air quality monitoring systems besides strengthening the air quality monitoring network in the twin cities. It also plans to put up more LED screens to display air quality data at regular intervals.
Singh said the proposal would be implemented once the environment ministry sanctioned the funds.
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