Drones to check dumping of wastes in industrial areas of Delhi

Authorities in Delhi are planning to use drones to check illegal dumping of waste and sources of pollution in drains which run through industrial areas of the national Capital.

The plan is to deploy drones in two industrial areas of Delhi on a pilot basis. Officials said if the results are encouraging then all industrial areas of the city would be monitored with drones in the future.

“We are exploring the feasibility to deploy drones over industrial areas. Preliminary discussions have been held with at least four to five agencies for this, which have made presentations,” a senior official of the Delhi Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), who did not wish to be named, said.

The issue was also discussed in a meeting held in March between the two-member National Green Tribunal (NGT)-appointed Yamuna pollution monitoring committee, the DSIIDC, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The Delhi Police said that even though the use of drones is prohibited, they would examine the proposal if a government agency wanted to use them for official purposes. “Under Section 144 of the CrPC, drones are not allowed for hobbies. However if a government agency wants to use drones for some other purpose, we would have to examine the proposal. We have not received any such proposal yet from the DSIIDC,” Madhur Verma, Delhi Police’s deputy commissioner and spokesperson, said.

The issue of dumping industrial waste, which is often hazardous, illegally in drains running through industrial zones of the national Capital becomes all the more important as these toxic substances ultimately reach the river Yamuna.

“While on one hand, the drones could come handy in detecting illegal dumping of waste, we are more concerned with the pollution in drains as these drains empty into the Yamuna. As drones have not been deployed in the country, especially to detect industrial pollution, we are examining the feasibility,” the DSIIDC official said.

There are 33 industrial clusters in Delhi, of which at least three do not use water and hence do not trigger any water pollution.

The rest 30 industrial estates are clubbed into 28 industrial clusters and need to be monitored for water pollution. Out of these 29 clusters, only 17 are connected to Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs).

“Joint teams, comprising DSIIDC and DPCC officials, have inspected at least 13,000 industrial units in 12 clusters till March 25. Out of these, around 1,130 were found to be causing water pollution. The polluting units are being imposed with environment compensation of at least ₹50,000. The survey of the remaining five clusters would be completed by May,” said a DPCC official, involved in the survey.

Both air and water pollution being triggered from industrial areas in Delhi has become a major concern. In October, 2018, NASA satellites had detected “red dots” in some industrial areas of the NCR, including Narela and Bawana, which indicated open burning of industrial waste. HT had earlier reported that at least nine out of the 11 CETPs in Delhi were working below permissible standards.

First Published: Apr 15, 2019 09:22 IST