State 'ignores' tips to fight air pollution

The Telegraph , Thursday, January 25, 2018
Correspondent :
Calcutta: The state government stands accused of sitting for around a year and a half on recommendations on how to curb air pollution filed by an expert committee set up by the National Green Tribunal.

"The tribunal had on August 11, 2016, directed the state government to implement the recommendations of an expert committee appointed by the tribunal itself. The government has not yet implemented a single recommendation," alleged green activist Subhas Datta, based on whose petition the committee was formed.

"The government's attitude to the report is shocking," a member of the committee told Metro. "As a matter of fact, under pressure from senior government officials on the panel, we had to agree on softer recommendations. The report was mostly based on various orders of the judiciary."

Bikash Kar Gupta, the lawyer who represented the government before the tribunal, said: "We have implemented some of the recommendations, while a few others are in the pipeline."

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Measurement of toxic pollutants: The committee has suggested continuous monitoring of PM 2.5 - ultra-fine particulates that enter deep crevices of the lungs and trigger a host of ailments, including cancer - at nine stations in Calcutta, instead of just two.

The pollution control board has since increased the number of stations where PM 2.5 is measured from two to four.

All four are manual stations. The two automatic stations the board runs in the city does not measure PM 2.5.

Experts say manual measurement tends to give a far lower figure compared with the actual prevalence of the pollutants.

Air quality index (AQI): Despite the committee's recommendation to integrate Calcutta and Howrah into the national AQI network, both cities are not part of it.

Phasing out of vehicles 15 years or older: The high court had in 2008 ordered phasing out of commercial vehicles 15 years or order. The tribunal-appointed committee has included the recommendation in its report. The order is applicable to the entire Calcutta Metropolitan Area - which includes the city and its adjacent areas in Howrah, Hooghly, and North and South 24-Parganas - but the implementation is mostly confined to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation area.

Auto-emission testing centres: The committee has recommended that the number of such centres has to be increased and the "quality of operations" improved.

All such centres should be connected to a centralised server and regularly inspected by board officials to eliminate corruption. The committee has also recommended penalties for violations.

None of the recommendation has yet been implemented. Also, the board has not introduced any system for affixing specially designed "pollution under control" certificates to windscreens, as directed by the tribunal.

Stop open burning: A few circulars have been issued in response to the committee's recommendation on stopping "open burning of coal and wood". Nothing has changed on the ground. Even government agencies continue to burn coal tar to repair roads, which causes significant pollution.

Pollution from construction: Hardly has any measure been taken to stop pollution caused by construction activities despite some orders issued by the Calcutta Municipal Corporation and the PWD.

 
SOURCE : https://www.telegraphindia.com/calcutta/state-ignores-tips-to-fight-air-pollution-203619
 


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