CHANDIGARH: Six cities in Punjab which had poor or very poor average ambient air quality during November 2019 might not get the permission for sale or use of firecrackers this year, at least till November 30, as per the National Green Tribunal (NGT) verdict. These include Amritsar, Ludhiana, Mandi Gobindgarh, Patiala, Jalandhar and Khanna.
Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) member secretary Krunesh Garg told TOI, “The final order will soon be issued by the chief secretary, as we have sent the file.” Asked how many cities of Punjab could be affected due to the ban, Garg replied, “There could be maximum six cities.”
On November 6, the Punjab government had submitted before the NGT that the state did not need a fire cracker ban and that no part of Punjab fell in the National Capital Region (NCR). The government had submitted that it had installed continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations in its non-attainment cities of Amritsar, Ludhiana, Mandi Gobindgarh, Patiala, Jalandhar and Khanna. The NGT was informed that the air quality index (AQI) in these cities had remained in “moderate” range for January and February this year, “satisfactory” from March to July, “good” in August, “satisfactory” in September and “moderate” in October.
But the NGT bench headed by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel observed, in its order released on Monday, that the Punjab government’s reply did not have the AQI data for November, which was the issue for consideration. “AQI bulletin available on the website of the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) on November 6 shows Amritsar, Jalandhar, Khanna and Ludhiana in the category of ‘poor’ air quality,” said the NGT. “It is not possible to accept that in the state of Punjab air quality is satisfactory or moderate everywhere in November. Moreover, apart from non-attainment cities, there are other cities where air quality norms are not met.” The NGT further added that it had to apply a uniform yardstick based on objective criteria of air quality in the context of Covid-19 pandemic and associated adverse health impacts.
The NGT also noticed that as per the CPCB, there are 122 non-attainment cities in the country where the air quality is beyond norms. This list has nine cities of Punjab — Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Khanna, Derabassi, Gobindgarh, Naya Nangal and Dera Baba Nanak.
The AQI between 0-50 is considered as good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 severe.