KOLKATA: Environment activist Subhas Dutta plans to move NGT over the stubble burning issue in New Town and parts of Salt Lake, which is deteriorating the already poor air quality in these areas as winter sets in.
Stubble burning has become a major environmental concern for New Town with several cases being reported in the township in the past few weeks. The matter first came to notice a month ago when a few Red Munia birds were killed and their nest gutted as a result of stubble burning on a plot opposite Eco Park.
The number of cases is said to have come down after local residents, along with volunteers engaged by the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) as resistance groups, kept an eye out and reported to the police when they saw similar incidents. However, stubble burning continues in certain pockets in Action Areas II and III.
“There has been fewer incidents in New Town in the last few days, but they need to be completely stopped. We are keeping an eye on the matter and communicating with the police,” said Samaresh Das, chairperson of New Town Forum and News (NTFN), a local NGO. NTFN has formed a vigilance team to keep tabs on the issue.
According to the reading conducted by a private agency with PM 2.5 as the main pollutant, the air quality index (AQI) level in New Town stood at 175 around 8pm on Monday. It increased to a severe level of almost 500 close to midnight.
“We had caught the attention of the pollution control board over the issue of stubble burning when it was happening in Nadia last year. This has now become a regular affair. We are now receiving complaints from several places. The PCB should come up with alternative measures to stop this nuisance,” said Naba Dutta, secretary of Sabuj Mancha.
“As a regulatory authority, we already have a standing order on this issue. Stubble burning is a punishable offence. We will further look into the matter,” said West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) chairman Kalyan Rudra.
NKDA, on its part, has taken a number of steps to curb the nuisance. Notice boards have been put up on plots, drone surveillance is being carried out and volunteers on bikes are keeping an eye out.