NEW DELHI: The environment department is coordinating with various agencies to implement the recommendations by the lieutenant governor's high-powered committee for controlling air and water pollution. But officials feel the plan may have little effect unless such measures are taken in the entire national capital region.
The measures, which include raising parking charges as well as regulating entry and exit of vehicles not bound for Delhi, should be in place within another week. "But air pollution is a cross-border issue. The measures may not be very successful if the neighbouring states don't act alongside. We are coordinating with National Capital Region Planning Board for taking steps to check air pollution," said a senior official at the department.
The current policy is meant only for Delhi. The department is now pushing for similar policies in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.
To begin with, the Delhi government is asking for installation of air pollution monitoring stations in all the satellite towns, especially Gurgoan, Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad. Due to the abysmal infrastructure and manual monitoring, only PM10 (coarse particles) can be measured. Assessing PM2.5 (fine, respirable particles) levels is essential as these pollutants can have more serious health impacts like decreased lung function and cardiovascular issues.
"We have six monitoring stations of Delhi Pollution Control Committee and five stations of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The same level of real-time monitoring is needed in all of NCR to deal with air pollution in Delhi. The ministry of earth sciences is working on getting land and establishing these stations on priority," added the official.
Gurgaon and Ghaziabad were not included in WHO's urban air quality database, which found the highest PM2.5 levels in Delhi out of 1,600 cities acro- ss the world. Air and water pollution in NCR could become a more serious concern with the environment ministry revisiting a moratorium on 43 critically polluted areas in the country, including Ghaziabad, which was listed as the third most polluted industrial area in 2009. MoEF recently asked CPCB to reassess the comprehensive environmental pollution index (CEPI) and its rankings.
A study of satellite-based aerosol optical depth data by scientists at the division of environmental health in the public health sciences department at University of Miami and Nasa has found that Gurgaon, Noida and Faridabad borders saw a significant deterioration in air quality after 2002 and recommended uniform interventions in the region.
