Haryana pollution board fines two projects Rs 5 lakh each in Gurugram

GURUGRAM: The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) on Friday imposed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh each on two under-construction sites in the city for non-compliance with an NGT order on air pollution.

The sites were found transporting construction materials through trucks. The material, however, was not properly covered and added to pollution, an HSPCB official said.

According to HSPCB officials, an inspection carried out on Wednesday by the district monitoring committee found that two projects, located along the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR), have not taken appropriate dust-control measures as directed by the NGT. The inspection was carried out as the city has been witnessing ‘very poor’ air quality in the last few days. The AQI on Friday was 342 while it was 338 on Thursday.

According to the show-cause notice, the penalty is in line with NGT rules that state: “A person, owner or builder found to be violating air pollution norms will be liable to pay a compensation of Rs 5,00,000 in relation to construction activity at its site and Rs 5,000 for violation during carriage and transportation of construction material, debris through trucks or other vehicles in terms of Section 15 of the NGT Act on the principle of pollution pay.”

“We have issued show-cause notices to two sites that were found grossly violating the provisions of Air Act, 1981 as well as the 2010 MoEF guidelines for construction projects to control dust emission emitted from the construction site and handling of material and debris. We have given them 15 days to respond,” said Shakti Singh, regional officer, HSPCB, Gurugram.