These monitoring stations would be installed during this year for further strengthening of the real time Ambient Air Quality data generation in and around Delhi National Capital Region. These would be installed in Panipat, Sonepat, Dharuhera in district Rewari, Bahadurgarh, Karnal, Kaithal, Yamunanagar, one additional station in Gurgaon at Manesar and one additional station in Faridabad near Sector-55 and 56, said a spokesman of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board.

He said that for continuous monitoring of the polluting industries and to generate the real time monitoring data, the board is laying emphasis on installation of online monitoring system in the highly polluting industries.

The process to install these systems has been commenced in first phase in the Highly Polluting Industries and Common Treatment and Disposal Facilities (CTDF) for monitoring of effluent and air emissions quality for which directions has been issued by the board.

In the first phase, 100 large and medium scale highly polluting industries or projects and CTDF have been covered for installation of online monitoring system. So far, 69 industries have installed online monitoring devices and 28 industries have already started displaying online data for effluent and air emissions by installing server in the board or through cloud server hired by them. The provision of online monitoring system would reduce the manual inspection of the industries and generate the real time data, said the spokesman.

He said that the board has recognised 12 laboratories of private sector and two laboratories of public sector under Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 to facilitate industries for analysing their samples of effluent or air emissions for consent purposes besides their own four laboratories during the year 2015-16 and 2016-17 respectively.

The spokesman said that the board has persuaded Public Health Engineering Department, Haryana Urban Development Authority and Urban Local Bodies Department and issued the directions for installation of new Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) as well as up-gradation of existing STPs for treatment of sewage effluent in the areas of their jurisdiction.

As a result of this, 13 new STPs of 119.5 MLD capacity have been installed during last one year. Also, 41 new STPs of 306.95 MLD capacity are under construction and 49 new STPs of capacity 679.06 MLD have been proposed by these departments. Installation of additional STPs would further reduce the pollution load of various drains or rivers in the State, he said.

The spokesman said that the board has also issued directions to Urban Local Bodies Department for providing municipal solid waste treatment and disposal facilities. During last one year, one such facility has been commissioned at Karnal with a total capacity of 150 tonnes per day.

This would improve the overall environment of Karnal town since garbage creates unhygienic conditions, if not properly disposed of.

To make the people aware, especially the farmers of the gravity or effect of the problem emerging out of burning of paddy straw or wheat stubble, meetings at division and sub division level and seminars were conducted through regional offices in the field. Besides, the district administration was also involved to organise a mass contact programme of the people to make them aware of this problem.