In a significant development, Delhi lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung on Friday accepted the short-term and long-term recommendations made by a committee to curb air and water pollution in the city.
The list of recommendations, includes 100 per cent treatment of industrial effluent within three years to ensure that no untreated sewage enters the Yamuna and removal of encroachment on the floodplains of the river, as part of the long-term measures.
The short-term measures to reduce air pollution include effective implementation and tightening of Pollution Under Control (PUC) norms for all vehicles, regulating the entry and exit of the vehicles not destined for Delhi, introduction of Euro-V norms for vehicles to be registered in Delhi and promoting use of public transport to help reduce traffic.
The committee also recommended robust implementation of the action plan for Green Delhi, prohibition on illegal burning of garbage and horticultural waste and public awareness campaign to involve participation of citizens to check the air pollution level in the city.
The administration has been asked to adopt a rationalised parking policy with marked “no tolerance zones,” promotion of non-polluting battery-operated vehicles and setting up of air quality monitoring stations in the National Capital Region to improve the air quality in the city.
Measures to curb water pollution, include issuing notifications of sanitation by-laws to provide strict punishment for littering the water bodies. Mr Jung said that he will monitor the progress made by the departments every three months. A project implementation unit was set up at the L-G office’s that will monitor the progress on a quarterly basis to oversee the implementation of the recommendations. “He directed that the sub-plans be prepared for each department, containing recommendations to be implemented with fixed timelines. He directed that legislative amendments that are required to implement the recommendations should be taken up on a priority,” a statement issued by the L-G House said.
Apart from popularising rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharging and water-efficient fixtures, the committee has also recommended provision of land for treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous, construction and demolition waste.
The long-term measures to deal with the rising air pollution levels in the city include developing a public transport plan for the city and its time-bound implementation.
