New Delhi: Mayor Shelly Oberoi, during a press conference focused on air pollution, provided updates on various initiatives on Friday.
She mentioned ongoing discussions regarding a potential increase in parking fees and the number of mechanical road sweepers in operation in Municipal Corporation of Delhi areas.
"We are discussing the matter (of increasing parking fees), and a proposal in this regard was brought in a house meeting earlier. However, we don't want to put an additional burden on people. Regarding increasing the number of MRS also, a discussion is in progress," she said.
CAQM's GRAP II norms suggest increasing parking fees to discourage private transport, and New Delhi Municipal Council has already doubled the fees at most parking lots.
MCD had earlier submitted that it needs 112 MRS to conduct alternative sweeping of all roads more than 60-foot-wide. However, the civic body has 52 machines, and the process for procuring 18 is stuck as no standing committee is in place.
The mayor emphasised the priority given to repairing potholes, noting that compared to the previous year, a significantly larger number of road stretches were addressed. She also highlighted the deployment of 1,275 officials through 372 surveillance teams, working in two shifts.
"These teams are focusing on monitoring 612 sites registered on the DPCC portal. In addition to overseeing the registered sites, the teams are tasked with addressing other violations related to C&D waste," she said.
"Delhi govt and MCD are ramping up fines and measures to reclaim the city's air and calling for public cooperation to curb the pollution in the national capital. I appeal to the public to participate in pollution control measures actively, as it directly impacts everyone's health. Pollution has serious health effects, especially respiratory issues for many," she said.
Oberoi added that MCD's total road length is about 15,500 km. Around 57,000 sanitation workers manually sweep the roads. Additionally, MCD has deployed 52 mechanical road sweepers, 195 water sprinklers jetting machines, and 30 anti-smog guns, especially in hotspot areas.
"Zonal DCs have been appointed as nodal officers for all these hotspots. There are 106 designated MCD sites for dumping C&D waste. Of these, 55 sites are covered with barricading sheets, and the waste is sent to C&D plants for scientific processing," the mayor said.
The leader of the House, Mukesh Goyal, and deputy mayor Aaley Muhammad Iqbal said that every year from Sept onwards, pollution becomes a problem in Delhi. "Delhi Govt has been taking steps, holding meetings with officials led by our chief minister and environment minister, as well as the mayor. Together, we are actively working to address this issue," Goyal said.