Gurugram chokes on dust from its own infrastructure sites

GURUGRAM: The pollution control board in Haryana recently announced a dust portal that will get live data from sensors that are to be installed to monitor construction sites.

One doesn’t, however, need sensors to see what’s wrong — non-compliance with dust mitigating measures is evident from a visit to the sites, both of private and government projects.

Most construction and infrastructural projects in Gurgaon don’t follow basic guidelines of the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change, including shuttering the construction area with green sheets, sprinkling water and covering vehicles carrying construction and demolition (C&D) waste.

As a result, their immediate vicinity has turned into dust bowls. For large projects like the Sohna elevated road and the Dwarka Expressway, the affected area too is much larger. A permanent haze shrouds the city’s new sectors, which have the most construction sites.

The graded response action plan (GRAP) was supposed to come into effect on Friday, but hasn’t been imposed so far as the government hasn’t received any directions from the Commission for Air Quality Management. For the past couple of weeks, the city claimed to have put in pre-GRAP measures, but these glaring violations continue. As a result, Gurgaon’s air quality index (AQI), which is currently ‘moderate’, is likely to slip into the ‘poor’ category soon.

A visit by TOI to other major construction sites in the city as well on Friday, including Atul Kataria Chowk, Huda City Centre and Mahavir Chowk, revealed a similar picture. Everything was covered with a fine layer of dust — the buildings, the trees, the vehicles, and even the workers. None of the workers were seen wearing a dust mask.

On Friday, the AQI was recorded at 195 (moderate), a spike compared to the previous day, when the AQI stood at 172. At three of the city’s four air monitoring stations, air quality hovered between ‘poor’ and ‘moderate’ levels. While the AQI was 195 at Teri Gram and 164 at Gwalpahari (both moderate), it stood at 226 at Sector 51 (poor). The AQI was not monitored at Vikas Sadan because of insufficient data.
In new sectors of Gurgaon, where a majority of buildings are still under construction, some residents claimed that they have never seen a clear skyline due to the pervading dust haze. Though there are numerous hoardings along the roads that promise “peaceful living”, “a luxurious life” and “green surroundings” in highrises with all amenities, the reality is the opposite, they said.

“We have all been covered in dust for more than two years now because of the Sohna elevated road project. No one cares about the health of residents. The civic authorities are only worried about the completion of the project, they hardly bother about anti-pollution norms,” said Kanwar Pal, a resident of Sohna road.

“Construction activities are going on at night in residential areas, which is also a violation of the norms. The sites don’t have any covers to stop dust from dispersing,” said Mona Singh, a resident of Sector 89.

Under GRAP, strict vigilance by the civic authorities is required, as well as no tolerance for visible emissions, which should prevent plying of visibly polluting vehicles by impounding or heavy fines. The authorities should also enforce rules for dust control at construction sites and shut down those that are non-compliant. The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) should periodically review compliance of the dust mitigation measures at C&D sites.

Though the norms are very clear, most of the sites that TOI visited were found transporting construction material in trucks without adequate covering. The truck wheels were not washed, thus carrying dust outside of the premises. C&D waste was seen dumped along the roadsides and grinding of stones was being carried out in the open.

The authorities, meanwhile, claimed they are taking measures to mitigate air pollution. “We have been sprinkling water on roads where construction activities are being carried out. As it was noticed that dust was covering Mahavir Chowk, a team was sent to sprinkle water along the stretch,” said Subhash Yadav, nodal officer of the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon’s environment and sustainability wing.

“We are keeping a close watch on construction sites to mitigate air pollution. Our teams are taking the required action,” HSPCB regional officer (Gurgaon) Sandeep Singh said.

Asked when GRAP would be imposed in the city, HSPCB secretary S Narayana said: “We will have a meeting on Monday with CAQM again to finalise the actions and directions on GRAP.”