UP government has failed to take steps to reduce air pollution: EPCA chairman

NOIDA: The Uttar Pradesh government faced scathing criticism on Saturday from Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) chairman Bhure Lal, who dismissed its statements on measures taken to improve air quality in NCR as mere lip service, visible in the lack of change at the ground, be it reining in dust pollution at construction sites, vehicular congestion at usual choke points or improving green cover.
In a meeting-cum-workshop with state government officials that lasted four hours, the EPCA chairman shared his detailed assessment of the ground realities in Noida and Ghaziabad after personally inspecting several spots, concluding that the UP government had failed to implement the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for NCR cities notified by the Centre in January 2017. EPCA is a Supreme Court-mandated body set up to monitor air pollution in NCR.

Bhure Lal also came down heavily on the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) — which is upgrading NH-24 into Delhi-Meerut expressway — for violation of norms at its construction sites in the region. He also made specific references to solid waste management, decreasing green cover and vehicular pollution in NCR, all areas he was unhappy with.

The EPCA chairman said he had found construction material was still being transported without covers and being dumped at open places. “The builders should be fined again and again for construction-related pollution violations until they start following rules,” he said.

He told government officials all pollution control measures for implementation of GRAP should be bolstered and put in place by October 15. The conference, held in Sector 6, was attended by the UP chief secretary, senior officials of the central and state pollution control boards, top officials of development authorities and district magistrates of Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Meerut and Shamli, and the Meerut divisional commissioner.

Citing a recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report that pointed out 14 out of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are in India, Bhure Lal said, “Of these 14, several are NCR cities like Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad. If action is not taken to completely curb air pollution in NCR, the future looks grim. Air pollution not only affects mental ability, it causes immense health issues, including cancer.”

He also pointed out that though official papers may claim so, Noida and GhaziabadThe EPCA chairman said he had found construction material was still being transported without covers and being dumped at open placesdo not have 33% forest cover. Upholding the need for electric buses and similar public transport, he said while the number of private vehicles in New Delhi was growing by 1%, in other NCR cities, it was going up by 4-5%. He made specific mention of the road stretch between Loni and Saharanpur which, he said, needs to be repaired to improve traffic movement.

In Noida, he cited the tall divider between Atta Market and Sector 18 market which, according to him, has led to traffic problems, and absence of a pedestrian pathway in the central part of the city. To reduce the use of cars, there should be more walkways, while parking rates should be increased to reduce car usage in congested parts of Noida. “Plant local variety trees like neem, pilkhan and other common trees. Why are eucalyptus planted here?” he asked, while commenting on the issue of 3,000 eucalyptus trees being cut in Sector 91.

Raising concern on crop stubble-burning, he added, “The Union government is already working on providing machines which can shred, scatter and mix crop residue in soil to be used as organic manure so that farmers so not need to burn them. Paddy straw is successfully being used in Punjab to generate electricity while there is technology to convert it into ethanol. All measures are being taken curb pollution arising from crop burning.”

Chief secretary Anup Chandra Pandey said the state government was taking proactive steps to curb crop stubble-burning, using technology, and that a biofuel policy with incentives worth up to Rs 150 crore would soon be implemented in the state for conversion of crop residue to ethanol. “Uttar Pradesh is engaging students, young technocrats and startups to come forward with creative solutions for containing pollution in the state. Pollution control should not be just a matter of fines and regulation, it should become a citizen’s concern so they can take proactive steps to prevent pollution,” Chandra said.