New Delhi, Dec 3 (UNI) Taking a strong stance on the pollution prevention front, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Wednesday made it clear that government institutions showing laxity in pollution control will not be spared.
CM Gupta has said that any negligence in pollution control in the national capital will not be tolerated, adding that her government is treating pollution as an emergency mission and is making determined efforts to bring it under control.
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has been instructed to issue challans and impose heavy penalties on agencies failing to maintain pollution and cleanliness standards.
She has also ordered FIRs against departments conducting unauthorised road-cutting and failing to restore roads properly.
Gupta has also announced that a specialised and high-level expert committee is being constituted to work continuously on bringing pollution under control, which will be granted special powers. The committee will include senior officials from the government departments and experts from IIT and specialists in environmental science.
On Wednesday, CM chaired a high-level review meeting on pollution control, and reviewed the ongoing measures for pollution mitigation, and all departments were directed to work on a war footing in the coming days.
The meeting was attended by Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Chief Secretary Rajiv Verma, and senior officials from PWD, MCD, DDA, Environment and Forest, DSIIDC, Delhi Metro, NBCC, Power, and DUSIB. The Chief Minister emphasised that while the long-term fight against pollution will continue, immediate measures must be intensified urgently.
All departments have been directed to identify and fill potholes within 72 hours, and the road-maintenance agencies have been instructed to ensure that no road remains broken. PWD has been directed to repair potholes across its 1,400-kilometre road network on priority and upload before-and-after photographs on the designated app. DDA has been asked to ensure proper cleanliness on its roads, remove waste from vacant land, and hand over its markets to MCD without delay.
Delhi Metro has been instructed to immediately repair roads under its elevated corridors and implement effective dust-control measures. Sirsa has said that strict action will be taken against vehicles below BS-IV standards, and to improve last-mile connectivity and encourage Metro use, e-autos will be prioritised.
He said that mist-spray dust mitigation has shown promising results and will now be expanded citywide. All construction sites have been directed to ensure fencing and comply with pollution-control norms within 48 hours.
