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Rai launches Green War Room to monitor, combat air pollution 24X7

Rai said the war room will also be linked with Green Delhi App through which residents can send their complaints regarding pollution, such as garbage burning, to the war room. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Monday launched an advanced 'Green War Room' here to monitor air pollution and ensure effective implementation of the winter action plan to curb it. Advertisement Ads by The war room will work from the seventh floor of the Delhi Secretariat where a 12-member team comprising environment scientists and other officials will be deployed, the minister said while addressing a press conference here. He said environment scientist Dr BMS Reddy will be in-charge of the war room while environment engineer NK Joshi has been appointed as assistant in-charge. We have launched an advanced 'Green War Room' from today and it will work round the clock. "It will monitor air pollution levels 24X7 and ensure that all necessary measures are taken to curb pollution in accordance with the amended GRAP. The war room will also analyse pollution data of the city," Rai said. Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in the capital and its vicinity according to the severity of the situation. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on Friday announced a 15-point winter action plan to combat pollution in the city. Under the plan, the GRAP has been enforced in Delhi from October 1. Rai said the war room will also be linked with Green Delhi App through which residents can send their complaints regarding pollution, such as garbage burning, to the war room. Necessary instructions to concerned departments will then be issued to address the issue, he said. The minister said the app has received 54,156 complaints so far. "Out of 54,156 complaints, nearly 90 per cent have been addressed. Maximum 32,573 complaints were related to MCD followed by PWD which had 9,118 complaints and 3,333 complaints were related to DDA," Rai said. The minister cited a report from Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and said despite the increase in population, Delhi government's efforts to curb pollution have achieved success as in the past 10 years, PM10 levels fell by 40 per cent and PM2.5 by 31 per cent. "In 2012, the PM10 levels of Delhi were averaged out at 368.In 2021, through the succinct efforts of CM Arvind Kejriwal and his government, the PM10 levels have fallen to 221.PM2.5 was at 164 in 2012 while in 2021 it was 113.PM10 has fallen by 40 per cent in the last 10 years while PM2.5 has been reduced by 31 per cent in the last decade," Rai said citing the CSE report. The minister said from October 6, an anti-dust campaign will be launched in Delhi to check dust pollution especially at construction sites. He urged people to report every single instance of dust pollution or garbage burning on the Green Delhi App.

2 million vehicles in Delhi don’t have pollution control certificate

Senior government officials, who are aware of the matter, said on Monday that 90 enforcement teams have been formed, and SMSes are being sent to the owners of the vehicles without valid PUCC to get their vehicles checked immediately. Nearly 2 million vehicles in the national capital do not have valid pollution under control certificate (PUCC), according to data shared by the Delhi government which has announced a citywide campaign against polluting vehicles head of the winter when air pollution peaks in the Capital. The state government had announced on Saturday that from October 25, vehicle owners will not be able to refuel at city fuel stations until they are carrying a valid Pollution Under Control certificate. A notification in this regard is yet to be issued. Senior government officials, who are aware of the matter, said on Monday that 90 enforcement teams have been formed, and SMSes are being sent to the owners of the vehicles without valid PUCC to get their vehicles checked immediately. According to Delhi government data, a total of 1,936,880 vehicles in Delhi do not have a valid PUCC as on September 25. “Presently, there is no mechanism for checking whether the vehicles whose PUCC have expired are plying or not. It can be checked at the time of re- fuelling of the vehicle or during the enforcement drives which are carried out by the transport department regularly, especially during the winter months,” said a transport department official who asked not to be named. An analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in November last year said that vehicles are one of the biggest contributors to local particulate matter (PM10) in Delhi. According to government data, Delhi has a total of 13.4 million registered vehicles. “Nearly 60% of these vehicles are active. Apart from the vehicles registered in Delhi, hundreds of thousands of vehicles registered in NCR states enter the national capital daily. Checking that the vehicles tailpipe emissions are within the permission limits is an important step in combating air pollution. We have formed 90 enforcement teams to check PUC compliance by all kinds of vehicles,” said Delhi transport commissioner Ashish Kundra. In 2021, the Delhi government launched a similar crackdown on polluting vehicles and those running without valid PUC certificate under which teams were deployed at busy streets, near petrol pumps, and at other locations to check vehicles. “Our teams issued 24,300 challans against vehicles which did not have valid PUCC between September 2021 and December 2021,” said transport department official. PUCC is a mandatory document certifying that the vehicle’s tailpipe emission falls within permissible limits.A vehicle plying without a valid PUC certificate is liable to be prosecuted under Section 190(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act and may lead to imprisonment of up to three months or fine of up to ₹10,000, or both. Delhi has around 966 PUCC centres spread over 10 zones. Random checks are also done by Pollution Level Test Inspectors to ensure that PUC centres are issuing accurate certificates. Kavish Kumar, who runs a PUC centre near Geeta Colony Ramlila Maidan in east Delhi, said the number of vehicles coming for checks has almost doubled since last week as the government has started sending notices and alerts to vehicle owners. “Till September last week, around 100 vehicles came for PUC certificates every day. The number has gone up to 200-250 in the last few days,” said Kumar. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has also flagged concerns over vehicular pollution on September 30. “We are making inspection of PUC certificates stricter. We have identified 203 heavy traffic roads and have prepared measures to decongest them,” Kejriwal said at a press conference. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy) at Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said: “Vehicles are among the top contributors to Delhi’s air pollution. And therefore, in addition to meeting the mass emissions standards at the time of manufacturing of vehicles, stringent monitoring of emissions from vehicles on road is also necessary to ensure that vehicles are maintained well and do not deteriorate to emit more than they are designed to emit. It is important to go beyond the basic PUC tests that are not so suitable for modern technologies. We should look at introducing more advanced systems like remote sensing monitoring from roadside to capture the level of a range of pollutants from vehicles passing by for better profiling of emissions from different genre and age of vehicles and to effectively catch the highly polluting vehicles on road.”

Graveyard of E-waste

Arif made his way in the labyrinthine alleys of Seelampur, while his smoking addiction stuck on. Maine kabhi computer chalaya nahi, par tode bohut hain’’ (I have never used any computer but have dismantled many), said Arif Khan, 25, who has been in the business of recycling e-waste since the tender age of 12 years. Arif made his way in the labyrinthine alleys of Seelampur, while his smoking addiction stuck on. Advertisement Ads by Arif and his family moved to Seelampur in 2009 from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, where he only finished fifth grade. After shifting to Seelampur, he had to quit his education to manage the poor economic condition of his family. Turning to another alley, Arif paused and quipped, “Yahan par sirf ek Arif nahi hai, hazaron Arif hain” (there’s not just one but a thousand Arifs employed in this business here). The Old Seelampur neighbourhood in North East Delhi is infamous for being an unorganised e-waste recycling hub, despite the fact that it addresses a significant issue with e-waste from both India and other international countries. When inquired about the location of the e-waste scrap market, the locals said that the “ganda nala” (dirty drain) is a well-known landmark for the market. E-waste is defined as electronic products which are unwanted, broken and/or nearing the end of their “useful life”. Electronic items that are used every day include computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, and fax machines. The national capital generates 20 crore kg of electronic waste (2.2lakh ton) every year. However, in the absence of an organised system to deal with discarded electronics, around 90% of them reach landfills or informal recyclers, a official from Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) said. According to a research done in 2018 on the thriving informal e-waste sector in Delhi NCR in 2018, nearly 5,000 e-waste processing units, mostly in east Delhi, were functioning without proper guidelines, precautions or norms. Of them, Seelampur emerged as the biggest hotspot accounting for about 57 per cent of all the informal e-waste processing and handling units. Old Seelampur is home and bread earner for thousands of families, whose relatives are employed in the scrap of business. “There are more than 50,000 people who are employed in the business of e-waste recycling in this area alone,” said Khan. Khan identified himself as a small scrap trader and he deals with more than 500 kg of e-waste on a daily basis. He said that he will earn mere five thousand rupees for recycling e-waste. “I recycle waste computer screens, keyboards, mouses, printers, telephones and other electronic waste materials,” said Khan. He continued, “Recycling e-waste is an art. You have to hammer the monitor in a delicate way so that all remaining valuable parts of the monitor will not get damaged.” Screen, wires and rubber are some of the valuable parts that are extracted by the e-waste recyclers in Seelampur. Like Khan, thousands of other recyclers of electronic garbage worked with the waste without any safety equipment. Khan concurred that handling e-waste can be riskier for one’s health due to the increased likelihood that one will breathe in harmful fumes that are detrimental to health. “I always do my work with bare hands but thanks to Allah (God) that I never suffered from any type of ailments. Though, I received small wounds while dealing with glass material but such injury is common in this business.” Hazardous reality According to a 2018 study by Toxics Link – an NGO focused on environmental justice, “Open and manual dismantling, shredding, burning, leaching and uncontrolled dumping of electronic waste not only directly harm the exposed workers but also hurt the environment through contaminating soil, ground water, surface water and polluting air.” Printed circuit boards are high in lead; open crushing and burning of Cathode Ray Tube often generates toxic fumes; mercury is released through switches, old computers and flat screens during the dismantling or incineration process; and cadmium content from mobile phones has often reached landfill sites, contaminating the soil and groundwater there, researchers noted. Dr Gunjan Verma, Consultant, Dermatology department at Manipal Hospital said that people living near e-waste sites are at a higher risk of developing skin cancer and respiratory illnesses. “Burning e-waste releases fineparticles which can enter through skin pores and also can be inhaled which can trigger respiratory illnesses like asthma. The situation can also lead to developing associated skin conditions like allergic contact dermatitis and airborne contact dermatitis can also increase. Long exposure to the e-waste pollution can also increase the risk of skin cancer,” she explained. Besides, persistent exposure could involve multiple organs if the toxic elements make their way through the potable water. “Heavy metals from the e-waste eventually get dissolved into ponds, streams, rivers, and lakes. This water, when consumed by the general population, may cause serious health hazards. Infiltration by mercury and cadmium poses great risk to skin and digestive system,” the doctor said. Piled up computer monitors, heaps of opened inverters and entangled wires are common sight at the e-waste market at the Old Seelampur. Meahwhile, workers in cramped spaces continue to hammer at electronic peripherals, and subsequently fling unneeded elements to a corner. A resident said that there also exists a hierarchy in this business. According to him, the bigwig dealers brings in e-waste to markets like Old Seelampur from all over the world. “Then comes in the recyclers who source the reusable material, and at the end of the line the kabadiwalas (scrap dealers) who earn by selling the remaining plastic, among other things,” he said. E-waste comes to Seelampur from countries like UAE, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, etc, he said. “In Seelampur, almost every family is directly or indirectly connected with the recycling of e-waste. If a kid is not good in education, then their parents send them as labourers in these markets,” said the local. Formalising the sector Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group – a leading NGO that works in the sphere of environment and waste management – the three major issues related to e-waste, environment, hazard, health deterioration and child labour, can be addressed if the government pushes for formalising the sector. “In practicality, it is very difficult to sensitise them (collectors and recyclers) to put health and environment above their livelihood. What governments can do is provide them with alternative sites and incentivise them,” said Bharati Chaturvedi, director, Chintan. “These informal workers are very important to our economy. They are actually adding value to the e-waste that would have ended up at landfills through repairing, modifying and reselling them. They can be further trained with safe practices which will abolish child labour and with incentives, they could be inducted into a formal sector,” she said. Seventeen-year-old Shahbaz Qureshi, studying in class XII, recently began recycling scrap mobile phones along with his peers. “I have just learned how to extract valuable items from a scrap mobile phones. If I were trained earlier at this age then I can earn good money in future from this market,” said Qureshi. On why he opted for this profession only, he said, “If Seelampur were a computer hub then I would learn about computers. If we were a cricket academy then I would learn cricket. But since there is only e-waste recycling in Seelampur, I am learning it.” “Foreigners came to Old Seelmapur to see how we are managing the problem of e-waste. If we do not do this work then there will be a crisis of e-waste particles in the world,” Qureshi averred, while showing mobile phones components he had just recycled. Child labour In 2021, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) also flagged the child labour involved in dismantling and segregating e-waste in Seelampur and other areas of the country in its fact-finding report. According to the body’s report, youngsters as young as eight and nine years old spent 12 hours each day at the Mustafabad trash market removing wires off televisions. Children here were observed separating lithium from batteries in a store while another was observed sorting copper, iron, gold, silver, tin, titanium, palladium and other materials from e-waste (tubelights, laptops, and mobile phones), according to the report. Though the Commission recommended penalising those who employed the minors in this business, nothing has been changed after one year. According to the latest State of India’s Environment Report 2022, an analysis by the Centre for Science of India last year found most state pollution control boards lacked information and transparency around e-waste. Delhi, along with Andaman and Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Rajasthan are among states that have provided no information with regard to e-waste.. However, the state government has taken a step in a direction to address the mammoth issue. The Delhi government has already finalised a 20-acre plot in Narela as the city’s first e-waste park where waste generators and certified recyclers can operate under one roof, while two more such sites are under deliberation for the set-up. A sector in dire need of attention In the pursuit of separating lithium from batteries, recyclers and collectors at Delhi’s e-waste markets find varying quantities of copper, iron, gold, silver, tin, titanium, palladium and other precious materials. An unorganised sector still, e-waste can be propelled into a full-fledged industry 2.2lakh ton electronic waste generated in national capital every year 90% e-waste reaches landfills, informal recyclers Informal recyclers/processing units exist for lack of organised system to deal with discarded electronics Source: Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) Seelampur hub 57% of Delhi’s informal e-waste processing and handling units are in Seelampur Informal units lack proper guidelines, precautions or norms 5,000 - total e-waste processing units in Delhi, as of 2018 Informal e-waste hubs: Mustafabad, Old Seelampur, and markets across Shahdara in North East Delhi Dangerous ‘line of work’ Youngsters as young as 8 and 9 years old are illegally engaged in segregation/dismantle of e-waste 12 hours – average time spent per day by a child NCPCR advocates penalising those employing minors in this business One year on, nothing has been changed on the ground Govt watchdogs in the dark According to the latest State of India’s Environment Report 2022, most state pollution control boards lacked information and transparency around e-waste Delhi, along with Andaman and Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Rajasthan: states that have provided no information with regard to e-waste (Source: Centre for Science of India, 2021) ‘One small step’ City’s first e-waste park: coming up in a 20-acre plot in Narela Delhi govt will install waste generators, employ certified recyclers in this facility Two more such facilities in the anvil Capital’s e-waste markets, centered in North East Delhi, are thriving hubs for dismantling and segregating of electronic peripherals. Amit Pandey and Ashish Srivastava throw light on the vices of this unorganised sector, and how government attention can aid safe practices and abolish child labour and poverty

A Clean Sweep: How Indore has retained its ‘cleanest city’ tag for six years in a row

For the sixth consecutive year, Indore has won the ‘cleanest city’ title in the Centre’s annual survey. A willing public and a well-thought out plan is at the heart of the city's cleanliness drive As per the survey, Surat bagged the second position while Vijaywada lost its third spot to Navi Mumbai. As Indore enjoys its title, we take a closer look at how Indore is the cleanest city in India and what others can learn from it. Indore’s clean sweep This wasn’t the case always for Indore. In 2016, the city having an estimated population of about 35 lakh was ranked 25th in the cleanliness survey. However, since then things have turned around and Indore has been ranked the cleanest ever since. The mission to get Indore clean started in 2015 with Manish Singh, then the city’s then municipal commissioner, taking it as a challenge to get Indore on track. The first thing he did was focus on strengthening in-house sanitation infrastructure. The civic body built its fleet of door-to-door garbage collection vehicles and also beefed up their team of safai karamcharis. Today, they have over 1,500 vehicles which collect waste from households and business establishments and segregate it into six categories. They also have a team of 11,000 workers which segregate the waste. These safai karamcharis, a majority of whom are women, work tirelessly from early morning until late at night, keeping the city clean. Their first shift begins at 6.30 and the last one starts at 10 pm. Interestingly, unlike other cities that segregate garbage into two categories — wet and dry waste, the waste in Indore is separated into six categories — wet, electronics, plastics, non-plastic, biomedical, and hazardous. Mahesh Sharma, cleanliness wing superintendent engineer of the Indore Municipal Corporation, has been quoted as saying that this sorting at the initial stage of collection comes in handy for efficient processing. The segregation plan was full of challenges. Initially, 80 per cent of people would not segregate waste. However, the workers involved began pleading and educating the people on the benefits of segregation. When this didn’t work, those households were fined. Through the years, people began seeing the benefits of waste segregation and today 95 per cent of households give segregated waste. Moreover, Indore’s municipal body also ensured that its own officials adopted the programme, suspending officials who were not doing their work in supervising garbage collection, while rewarding those who worked well. The highlight of the civic body’s waste disposal process is a bio-CNG plant which runs on the wet waste collected from across the city. It is Asia’s largest such facility, according to city officials. It can generate 17,000 to 18,000 kg of bio-CNG and 10 tonnes of organic manure. People’s participation One of the key reasons why Indore retains its tag of cleanest city is the people’s participation in the efforts to keep the city garbage free. In the initial stages, Indore’s Municipal Corporation undertook awareness programs to educate people about waste segregation and keeping the city clean. In 2017, Mayor Malini Gaud held several meetings with citizens and administered the oath of cleanliness to more than four lakh people. Religious leaders were roped in to give sermons on the importance of cleanliness as well as cleanliness competitions were held. Today, Indoreans themselves have changed their attitudes. “It’s a cultural shift that has happened. Residents now take it as their responsibility to keep the city clean,” Municipal Commissioner Pratibha Pal has been quoted as telling The Print. In fact, residents, hawkers, rickshaw and autorickshaw drivers tick off people who are found throwing garbage in public places. A Clean Sweep How Indore has retained its cleanest city tag for six years in a row Indore has ranked first on the cleanliness survey since 2016, when it ranked 25th. PTI Political will Another contributing factor to Indore retaining its tag is the participation of politicians in the fight against thrash. “Due to political and administrative will, the city has become the cleanest in the country,” Swati Singh Sambyal, programme manager for waste management at the Center for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi-based nonprofit told IndiaSpend. “The city has definitely resolved about 90 per cent of its solid waste challenge.” The political representatives took tough decisions and stood by them firmly despite the initial opposition from the people. This includes salary and other miscellaneous expenditure. The political administration also doesn’t interfere in the work taken up by private players in the sanitation sector. Mohan Pandey, CEO of International Waste Management, the India subsidiary of the Kuwait-based National Cleaning Company, which is responsible for the night sweeping in the city, told the Print: “We took up the project in Indore because of the work culture and “lack of political interference”. “IMC is very supportive. They have appointed one point person, whom our people can contact in case of any problem.”

Where communities plant trees

Every day, without fail, a group of four women takes the responsibility to walk and to ensure that nobody fells trees there. They fight with intruders; they confiscate their axes and bicycles Why do you patrol the forest near your village every day and have been doing so for the past 30 years? Why does it matter so much?” I ask a group of women, who look at me with amazement for posing the question. I am in Kodalpali, a village in Nayagarh district of Odisha, and can see dense, verdant forests for miles. The village is remote and would be classified as poor on economic criteria. It has rudimentary toilets and no piped water supply, and the only school has been closed because of a bizarre policy of “rationisation”, which means that its fewer than 25 students now have to trek over 3 km to the next village for education. But in this village, and the neighbouring ones, women have been zealously protecting their forests for the past three decades. Every day, without fail, a group of four women takes the responsibility to walk and to ensure that nobody fells trees there. They fight with intruders; they confiscate their axes and bicycles. They tell me, without batting an eyelid, that they demand a fine before returning the confiscated goods. The wealth of the forests, as far as the eye can see, tells you that their protection is indeed working. In this tribal district, there are as many as 217 villages protecting an almost contiguous forest block of 60,000 ha. In 60 of these villages, it is primarily women who form the forest protection committees and take turns to patrol. Over the years, with the help of Vasundhara — an amazing and committed non-profit working on tribal rights — they have formed a federation of village protection committees at block and district levels. Here the executives — mostly women — meet every month to sort out inter-village conflicts and other issues. The octogenarian Shashi Pradhan, or Shashi mausi, as she is known, is the original tree-patrolling party. She tells me that the forests are the key to their survival, plain and simple. They provide all their needs — from firewood to building material to tubers and medicinal plants. Her younger colleague, Kuntala Nayak, jumps in to say that even during the two horrendous years of Covid-19, they did not need any outside help, and nobody in the village fell ill. “It is our source of life and so we protect it,” they say. Their forest usage rules apply to all — fuelwood is to be collected only on Sundays; green trees are not to be felled; no grazing during the monsoon; and the collection of minor forest produce, like bamboo and kendu (or tendu leaves used in beedi manufacture), is to be done only by the village households, not by outsiders. This grand experiment has now entered a new phase. In November last year, after years of struggle, 24 villages were granted community forest rights. This is a provision of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, under which villages can get the right to patches of government forests that they have been traditionally using, for exclusive use of resources and protection. According to the data of the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs, community rights have been granted over some 4.5 million ha of forestland, which would be an impressive 8 per cent of land under forest cover in government control, except for one crucial catch. The ministry counts in this all community rights, including rights granted to the use of waterbodies or minor forest produce and not only forestland rights. In the current case, the title is for management of forestland, and has been granted jointly to two villages — Kodalpali and Sinduria. The title letter demarcates roughly 300 ha for management. The villages now have the right to collect, process, use and sell minor forest produce. This also includes the right to value addition, storage and transportation of products within and outside village boundaries. This is a clear game changer. It would mean that these villages can now move to the next stage of protection, where the green wealth could form the basis of green jobs and a green economy. The villages now need a plan for the management of this tree-diverse area so that they can profit not just from timber but also from all the other richness that forest wealth provides. Experience shows that trees survive when village communities are involved — or given control, as in Kodalpali’s case — in forest management. Only then can we move towards a wood-based economy. In our climate-risked times, this is where the real opportunity is. We know that the world has to increase green cover, which will add to the sequestration of carbon dioxide. Nature-based solutions are the new buzzword. But as the women of Kodalpali, Sinduria, and the neighbouring villages say, the forests are their home and they can build the economy of the future — not just for themselves but for the world.

Three Months On, India's Single-Use Plastic Ban A Dud

Banned plastic including straws, cutlery found in circulation in Mumbai and Delhi. Experts call the ban weak and ask that big players, that produce more plastic, and more plastic items be brought under the ban's ambit Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru: Three months after India banned certain single-use plastic items to tackle plastic waste, IndiaSpend found those banned items in rampant circulation in Delhi and Mumbai. While vendors expressed helplessness at the lack of alternatives to these plastic products, experts have argued that the ban targets the most vulnerable but gives a free hand to multinational corporations. India is the fifth highest generator of plastic waste in the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appealed to the people to rid India of single-use plastic in his Independence Day speech in 2019. From July 1, 2022, India banned single-use plastic items that have low utility but are frequently littered around, such as plastic straws. The aim of the ban is to curb plastic pollution, since single-use plastic harms terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. By October 1, three months since the ban came into effect, little had moved on the ground. IndiaSpend found several banned plastic items in circulation in market places, eateries and other public places in Delhi and Mumbai, and a few were found in circulation in Bengaluru as well. Vendors said that there has neither been any punitive action nor any advisory to stop using these products, and that in fact, these products are available wholesale as usual. The ban was criticised from its inception for covering too little of what makes up total plastic waste. The share of plastic used for these banned single-use plastic products is less than 2%-3% of the total plastic waste generated in India, the industry estimates. Further, India has not even banned all single-use plastic, experts point out. They argue that the ban is skewed against the smallest segment of the plastic industry, which is the one that needs the maximum hand holding in order to transition away from single-use plastic. Experts say India needs to make the big players accountable for their share of plastic pollution. IndiaSpend reached out to the Central Pollution Control Board and Union environment ministry with questions about the ban's poor implementation and conceptualisation, and with the concerns raised by vendors, manufacturers and experts. This story will be updated when they respond. What is banned A study by researchers from the University of California and Santa Barbara and others estimated that the world has produced some 8.3 billion metric tonnes of plastic from 1950--when large-scale production began--to 2015. Of this, 6.3 billion metric tonnes or 80% is plastic waste. Of this plastic waste, as little as 9% has been recycled. The majority of plastic waste has ended up in landfills or in the world's oceans and other water bodies. There is global agreement on the need to address the plastic problem and, in the 4th United Nations Environment Assembly held in 2019, India had piloted a resolution addressing single-use plastic pollution. India notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules in August 2021, and the ban came into effect a year later. From July 1, 2022, India banned the following single-use plastic items: ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice- cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol) for decoration, plastic plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives; straws, trays, wrapping or packing film around sweet boxes, invitation cards, cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, and stirrers. A ban is already in place on carry bags having thickness less than 75 microns and, from December 31, 2022, bags up to 120 microns will also be banned. Also, there is a complete ban on plastic sachets used for storing, packing or selling gutkha, tobacco and pan masala. All that is fine but… Narendra (last name withheld at his request) used to work in a bank in Mumbai. He lost his job during the pandemic, and resorted to selling coconut water outside Mumbai's Lower Parel station. "A packet of plastic straws costs Rs 18 and has 60-70 straws," he says. "A similar pack of paper straws will cost between Rs 30-40. We cannot even pass on this increased cost to the customer because nariyal paani [coconut water] is already selling at Rs 60 apiece. Customers will simply not buy it anymore." Vendors IndiaSpend spoke to in Delhi say that single-use plastic items like candy sticks, plastic containers and packing film continue to be distributed by the manufacturers, and that they have no say in it. Ram Gopal, a shopkeeper at a weekly market in Vasundhara Enclave in Delhi where IndiaSpend found earbuds with plastic sticks, said, "I got these (earbuds) from the wholesaler, they are the ones who sell these. Is there a substitute for this product? I don't know of any." Munna Singh, who owns a juice corner in Saket, New Delhi talked about how plastic straws are easily available at Azadpur Mandi. "Plastic straws are a convenient option for us because they are much cheaper," Singh said. "We will think of paper straws but that is not our priority. The business is already dead since the pandemic. We need to survive." Piyush Chaudhary, who sells Chinese food and shakes in Noida's Sector 18, said that he has moved towards paper straws, but substitutes for plastic cutlery and glasses are expensive, which is why he still uses the plastic versions. Satish Kumar, who sells readymade garments that come covered in plastic wrap at Noida Sector 34's weekly market, asked the question many experts have also asked and the government has not yet answered. "Why don't you ask big shopkeepers (about the use of plastic)?," Kumar asked. "We are poor people. Why is the burden of saving the environment on the poor?" IndiaSpend reached out to the pollution control boards (PCBs) of Delhi and Maharashtra, asking them why banned plastic items are in circulation, what action has been taken so far, whether field inspections were done and any licences cancelled as per provisions of the ban. In response, the regional officer of the Maharashtra PCB Nandkumar Gurav directed officials to take action against violators and to ask the local body to increase vigilance. This story will be updated when the Delhi PCB responds. In our reporting from Bengaluru's Kaggadaspura in C.V. Raman Nagar area, however, we found fewer instances of banned plastic in circulation. A tender coconut seller in this area had made the switch to paper straws but found them expensive. "I am unable to find plastic straws easily due to the ban. Paper straws cost more than plastic (Rs 10 for 50), but I have no choice because of the law," he said, requesting anonymity. At retail stores, we did find plastic earbuds. When quizzed about it, a staff at one such store said, "Some earbuds may be plastic, but they are manufactured that way. What can I do?" Millions of tonnes of plastic generated In 2020-21, India generated nearly 3.5 million tonnes of plastic, as per details provided by 35 states and Union territories. Maharashtra forms 13% of this, followed by Tamil Nadu (12%) and Punjab (12%). Meanwhile, India's recycling capacity, at 1.56 million tonnes per annum, is only half of the total plastic generated. Brands are expected to recycle around 800,000 tonnes per annum as part of their Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Of the total plastic generated, the share of the now-banned single-use plastic--at, as we said, 2-3%--is minuscule. Thus, even if the ban had worked well, the impact on plastic waste generation would be negligible. The fact, though, is that the ban has not worked, even sub-optimally. A study of the CPCB's mobile application 'SUP-CPCB', meant for citizens to lodge complaints about single-use plastic, shows that many southern Indian cities had very few complaints. The largest number of complaints came from Delhi at 605, of which only 378 were addressed as of September 27, 2022. Ghaziabad had 168 complaints. In Pune (138), most complaints were about cutlery, and 46 were addressed. Vadodara also had a large number of complaints about plastic cutlery (67) and a total of 133 complaints, of which only 43 were addressed. Several Indian cities such as Lucknow (106), Hisar (64), and Bijapur (63) had not addressed even a single complaint lodged on the app (based on data from the app dashboard. IndiaSpend lodged a complaint on this app about a plastic straw in Mumbai on September 21, and its status is still listed as 'pending'. Impact on consumers Against that, there is the fact that the ban as it stands impacts the most vulnerable segments of the plastic industry and causes economic damage and job losses. It also directly impacts consumers, as Kotak India found in its July report. Among banned items, with a move from plastic to paper, the cost of straws could increase for low value packs of juices and other beverages, from Rs 0.25-0.30 to Rs 1-1.25 per unit, as per industry estimates in the Kotak India report. These low-value packs make up for more than 30% of overall volumes ,and switching to alternatives could increase packaging costs, especially in the case of sachets. "Thus, any broad-based ban on SUP in the medium term could impact volumes as well as profitability of the sector," the report warns. In sum, this report concurs with industry experts in pointing to a cascading impact. Replacing plastic for small price-point items drives up the cost; the rise in price forces the end consumer to buy less; this in turn affects the industry. "Larger plastic goods manufacturers are expected to diversify their operations to produce sustainable alternatives," said Bobby Verghese, a consumer analyst at GlobalData, a private research organisation that tracks industries. "However, the hefty price of these alternatives--at an average of Rs 1 to Rs 5 per disposable straw [in comparison to plastic straws]--is deterring buyers. Instead of anchoring the per pack price at Rs 10, beverage manufacturers can educate consumers about the environmental cost of plastic straws and motivate them to pay a bit more for eco-friendly packaging." What has the ban yielded? Educating the customer, however, is a long-term process. In the short term, not only has the ban not significantly impacted the use of SUPs, it has caused a section of the industry to shut shop, leading to financial distress and job losses. Hiten Bheda, ex-President of the All India Plastic Manufacturers Association (AIPMA) and chairman of its environment committee, fears that small manufacturers will get wiped out thanks to the ban. "The lower segment of this industry primarily offering monolayer packaging which is easier to recycle are affected the most, whereas multi-layered plastics used by large brands which are difficult to recycle, and retrieve from the environment, continue to grow," says Bheda. "The latter are the main contributors to visible pollution and leave a deeper carbon footprint. How is it fair that the policy based on the "Polluter Pays" principle has failed to recognise this?" Small manufacturing units at the bottom of the pyramid, Bheda says, who have the largest employment generation potential are being penalised for no fault of theirs and are unlikely to survive under current provisions. Bheda was referring to the problems in EPR wherein producers, importers and brand owners manufacturing single-use plastic used in the packaging of products such as biscuits, instant noodles, mineral water etc. do not face a ban as long as they promise to recycle the quantity they generate. These companies manufacture the other biggest source of plastic pollution: multi-layered plastic, which technically cannot be recycled. Atin Biswas, Program Director (municipal solid waste) at Delhi-based think-tank Centre for Science and Environment, pointed out that what India has implemented is in fact not a single-use plastic ban, because only a very small fragment of these products are banned. He further questioned the basis of selection of these particular items for the ban. "There was insufficient evidence to conclude that these banned items are far more problematic than those not banned," Biswas said. "A high-powered committee developed a score-based methodology where they evaluated plastic items on a utility index and environmental impact. Here is the catch; 60% plastic waste coming from packaging is manufactured by 30-35 brands. Most of this waste is SUP, even bottled water. How come these items do not feature in the ban?" Biswas is not the only one to point to the skewed nature of the ban. "You have targeted a segment that doesn't have any manoeuvring capacity," says Swati Sheshadri, team lead at the Centre for Financial Accountability. "For hawkers and vendors, if they have Rs 2-4 markup price, how will they afford paper straws? These are not MRP products they sell, so people bargain with them as well. Those vendors are really vulnerable." Pointing out that if even this partial ban has to produce results, the lowest tier of the industry will need considerable hand holding in the initial stages, Sheshadri says, "At least keep a subsidised vending machine for paper straws. If you are going to use punitive action directly while giving them no relief, this is a double punishment. Big companies' NPAs are forgiven, but can't you give a vendor subsidised alternatives?" Sheshadri believes that if the government is serious about ending plastic pollution, it needs to first target the petrochemical industry (which supplies the raw material for plastic) and not the vendors. (This is part one of an IndiaSpend exploration of the single-use plastic ban and its aftermath. In part two, which follows, we explore the problems with EPR and multi-layered plastic.) (Preeti Yadav, Jyotsna Richhariya and Sneha Richhariya, interns with IndiaSpend, and Shreehari Paliath, a senior policy analyst at IndiaSpend, contributed to this report.)

GRAP in force: For next seven days, Delhi may not need pollution curb

NEW DELHI: As the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) comes into force from Saturday, which may prompt authorities to impose restrictions if the air quality turns “poor” or worse, the pollution forecast for the next seven days suggests that no restrictive measures may be needed for now. However, the air quality in certain areas within the city has worsened. On Saturday, it was “severe” at Anand Vihar, one of the 13 pollution hotspots in Delhi, prompting experts to suggest hotspot-specific measures, which are not part of the GRAP but 15-point winter action plan by the Delhi government. According to the forecast by IITM’s decision support system, the city’s overall air quality may remain “moderate” for the next one week. “The overall air quality over Delhi is likely to remain in the higher end of the moderate category on October 2, the quality will improve but remain in moderate category on October 3 and 4. The outlook for subsequent 7 days: There is a possibility of very light rain on 4th and light rain/thunderstorm on 5th,” stated the IITM forecast. Congratulations! You have successfully cast your vote According to the new norms by the Central government panel on air quality, CAQM, the restrictive measures under GRAP come in force after the AQI turns “poor”, while the restrictions under stage 2 to 4 (AQI very-poor to severe+) come in force three days in advance. Since the overall AQI of the city on Saturday, according to the central pollution control board, was 121 or “moderate” and is expected to remain so, no restrictions were suggested. However, on Saturday evening, the air quality index (AQI), on a scale of 0 to 500, at Anand Vihar was 423 or “severe”. Similarly, the AQI at Dilshad Garden was 221, ITO 227, Mundka 226, Dwarka 255, Nehru Nagar 209, RK Puram 214 and Wazirpur 220, all under the “poor” category. “There is a need to implement the hotspot-specific plan since GRAP only talks of a large area or city-wide action plan, while there are several areas which will need attention. Though the GRAP doesn’t prompt action against local or air quality, the winter action plan by the Delhi government does. So, to control the pollution in specific areas, the government needs to have a measure to deal with hyper local issues,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director-research and advocacy, Centre For Science and Environment. She pointed out that the Delhi government should investigate area-specific pollution sources, especially where the air quality regularly worsens. “Like at Anand Vihar, there is interstate traffic, unpaved roads, dust, etc. Similarly, there could be industrial emission at Mundka,” added Roychowdhury.

Climbing up the Swachh ladder

India aims to be garbage-free by 2026. It is a tough challenge, but cities must rise to it – just as Indore, Surat and Navi Mumbai are doing The Swachh Bharat Survekshan began small in 2016 as a pilot project in 73 cities. Today, it has more than 4,355 cities, towns, and urban local bodies competing for the cleanest city tag. The increasing number of participating cities is a good omen; it shows that they are keen to clean up their act and provide residents with a better quality of life. The 2022 crown was won by Madhya Pradesh’s Indore for the sixth consecutive year; Gujrat’s Surat is at number 2; and Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra is third. Delhi (New Delhi Municipal Corporation), meanwhile, is at the ninth spot. Noida in Uttar Pradesh, which neighbours the Capital, is 11th. Enjoy unl

PUC certificate must for refuelling vehicles in Delhi from October 25

The announcement was made by Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai who said that the environment department will soon issue a notification. The Delhi government on Saturday said that a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate will be mandatory for refuelling vehicles at filling stations across the city from October 25, a move aimed at curbing vehicular emissions ahead of winter when air pollution peaks in the Capital. The announcement was made by Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai who said that the environment department will soon issue a notification. “We had issued a public notice seeking suggestions from general public in this regard on March 3, 2022, and then we issued notices to all the departments concerned on March 14, 2022. Suggestions from departments as well as citizens were received till May 2, 2022. We have also held a joint meeting of traffic police, transport department and environment department on September 29, in which we decided to enforce this provision,” the environment minister said. He added that citizens are being provided 25 days to update PUCs for their vehicles. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced a 15-point winter action plan to tackle the annual winter pollution crisis in Delhi when the city breathes its most polluted air owing to a range of factors such as local emissions, stubble burning by farmers in the neighbouring states and meteorological factors that leads to poor dispersion of pollutants. An analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in November last year said that vehicles are the biggest contributor to local particulate matter in Delhi. Rai said that meetings are being held with traffic police and the transport department officials to ensure that there are no queues at the filling stations. “In the next one week, we will share the entire plan,” Rai said. Officials aware of the development said that the transport department is expected to issue a notification on October 3, and added that the government departments will be notified separately. Last year too, the government had launched a crack down on polluting vehicles and those running without valid PUC certificate. The government deployed teams at petrol pumps to conduct random checks on vehicles coming to fill fuel. During the crackdown last year, the state transport department issued at least 850,000 challans against vehicles without a valid PUC. PUC certificate is a mandatory document certifying that the vehicle’s tailpipe emission falls within permissible limits.A vehicle plying without a valid PUC certificate is liable to be prosecuted under Section 190(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act and may lead to imprisonment of up to three months or fine of up to ₹10,000, or both. Delhi has around 966 PUC checking centres spread over 10 zones. Random checks are also done by Pollution Level Test Inspectors to ensure that PUC centres are issuing accurate certificates. The minister, however, did not comment on the exact number of vehicles operating without a PUC certificate in the city, but added that the government will share the “whole picture” over the next one week. Earlier in July 2022, HT had reported nearly 1.7 million vehicles registered with the state transport department were without a valid PUC certificate. Rai also announced the launch of a Green War Room on October 3, to implement the 15-point Winter Action Plan, and said that anti-dust campaign will be started from October 6. “We will start free spraying of Pusa bio-decomposer to prevent stubble burning from October 10. The Delhi government will strictly implement the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap). However, a joint action plan should be made for all NCR states,” Rai said. On 30th September, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announced a 15-point winter action plan for the city. “CAQM has issued the modified GRAP system and the Delhi Government has decided to implement it strictly. It should also be implemented in a similar manner across the entire NCR. We are now in a position to take action three days prior to deterioration of air level on the basis of forecast. All the departments will come into action swiftly because the change in pollution level in the winter season could be forecasted to an extent, but the rain and wind direction also has an important role to play,” Rai said. He added that at several places in NCR, the GRAP system gets announced but there is not much seriousness about its implementation. Under dust control measures, the government has stated that the construction sites with an area greater than 500 sqm would be mandatorily registered on the web portal developed by the Environment Department. “If they show any negligence in registration, they will be shut down in case the AQI level increases,” he added. Rai said that the coverage of bio-decomposer will be increased from 4000 acre to 5000 acre in a sprinkling drive starting from October 10th. He appealed to the farmers on the Delhi-Haryana border in the areas like Narela, Bhawana and Mundka area where reports of stubble burning were seen last year, to use bio-decomposers to decompose the stubble. The minister requested the governments of NCR areas to prepare their own Winter Action Plan and form special teams for its monitoring and implementation.

How experts responded to Delhi’s pollution action plan

New Delhi: Environmental experts on Friday welcomed the 15-point winter action plan announced by the Delhi government to combat the annual crisis in the national capital while seeking more focus on enforcement of anti-pollution rules on the ground and citizen engagement “The plan hits the right chords in terms of identifying sector-specific measures, use of forecasts and engaging citizens,” said Tanushree Ganguly, Programme Lead, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) . “In addition to leveraging complaints and inputs from Paryavaran Mitras, dedicated field teams that have been constituted for checking solid waste burning can also double up as inspection teams for other sources like non-compliant construction sites and industrial units,” Ganguly added . She also said that the government should look at working with Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWAs) to arrange cleaner heating alternatives for security guards, which is part of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap). Ganguly said besides addressing local issues, the plan should focus on resolving inter-state problems such as stubble burning. “With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) being in power in both Delhi and Punjab, it provides and opportunity for the two state governments to work closely on reducing stubble fires,” she said. Bhargav Krishna, Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), was of the view that the plan 15-point plan has failed to list “long-term structural changes” that are required to curb pollution in Delhi-NCR . “Investing more and more money in smog towers and anti-smog guns is a waste of public money. Stubble burning remains the big challenge, and addressing this issue in the long-term requires investment in helping farmers transition from burning paddy residue in Punjab. Being in power in both states provides the AAP a unique opportunity to solve this problem,” said Krishna. Bharati Chaturvedi, Founder and Director of Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group, said the government must promote and encourage use of public transport to curb emissions by private cars as well as decongest road arteries. “The actions in the plan are mainly ad-hoc in nature and not systemic. Winter is a critical period for air pollution, and we would have liked to see more action on the transport front. For example, reducing fares for Delhi Metro during winters to encourage ridership, introducing additional buses, preferably electric. The chief minister could have also appealed to parents to use school buses instead of private cars to sent their children to schools,” said Chaturvedi. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said it is difficult to predict how air pollution pans out this winter with several factors such as withdrawal of monsoon, an early Diwali and the response of farmers to crop burning all playing their role in addition with the meteorological conditions. “To counter this, a new forecasting system is in place which will lead to pre-emptive action, and this time of Grap’s focus is dust, waste and crop burning. The impact of the proposed winter action plan will depend on the efficacy of enforcement as well as the infrastructure developed so far to control these problems,” she said. Roychowdhury added that “action around vehicles” appears to be limited, even though vehicular emissions contribute to half of particulate pollution during winters “as estimated by the decision support system last winter”.

Swachh rankings: Poor showing of erstwhile Delhi MCDs continues

The south corporation grabbed the 28th spot this year, up from last year’s rank of 31, while the east corporation improved its position by six ranks, from 40 last year to 34 this year. However, it was the north corporation that showed the most improvement -- it climbed eight spots from its rank of 45 in 2021 to settle at 37 this year. While the sanitary condition of areas under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) continues to remain dismal, according to the Swachh Survekshan rankings released on Saturday, the three erstwhile municipal bodies of the city performed marginally better in the annual ranking of cities based on their cleanliness by the central government. The south corporation grabbed the 28th spot this year, up from last year’s rank of 31, while the east corporation improved its position by six ranks, from 40 last year to 34 this year. However, it was the north corporation that showed the most improvement -- it climbed eight spots from its rank of 45 in 2021 to settle at 37 this year. Last year, 48 cities had participated in the category of local bodies with population of more than 1 million while 45 cities figure in this category under the 2022 rankings. This was the last sanitation review in which the three local bodies have taken part separately, and from next year, only the unified MCD will be ranked on its sanitation. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and Delhi Cantonment -- the two other local bodies in the national capital that traditionally fare well in the annual review -- witnessed a marginal decline in their rankings this year. The NDMC was adjudged the third cleanest among 382 cities with populations between 100,000 and one million. Last year, under Swachh Survekshan 2021, it had topped this category. Delhi Cantonment slipped from its third spot last year to fifth this year, among the 62 participants in its category. The sanitation rankings are based on the marks secured by the urban local bodies, out of 7,500 marks, based on service level progress (3,000), certifications (2,250) and citizen’s voice (2,250 marks). While the service level progress, which accounts for 40% marks, comprises activities such as waste segregation, processing and disposal, the citizen voice (30%) comprises feedback from residents, innovations and disaster preparedness. Rest of the 30% marks depend on achievements on parameters such as open defection free (ODF) certification, garbage free certificates (GFC). In the 2022 rankings, soth corporation obtained 4,171 marks (55.6%), east civic body 3,726 marks (49.7%) and north corporation secured 3,455 marks (46%). Siddharth Singh. programme manager of Environmental Governance and Solid Waste Management, Centre for Science and Environment, said Delhi is yet to get its basics right. “Besides some pockets where source segregation of waste is taking place, it has not been adopted at a wider level. Segregation is mostly done by the informal sector and even the door-to-door collection is not up to the mark. Half of the 11,500 tonnes of waste Delhi generates daily ends up in dump sites. Burning waste in waste to energy plants or sending it to dump sites is not waste processing,” Singh said. Atul Goyal, who heads the United RWAs Joint Action (URJA), an umbrella body for residents’ welfare associations, said, “The main problem is lack of collective responsibility and multiplicity of authorities. We can see that the Metro station inside the DMRC premises is clean while the situation under the pillars and metro stations is drastically different. If other cities like Indore and Chandigarh can be clean, So can Delhi.” NDMC in a statement said it has been awarded “Clean Small City” award in the population category of 100,00-300,000 in the Swachh Survekshan 2022, along with a 5 star GFC ranking and Water Plus Certified city. The MCD in its response said the erstwhile corporations have improved their rankings in 2022 despite severe a financial crunch and limited resources. “Erstwhile corporations tried their best and all three have performed impeccably in door-to-door waste collection, cleanliness of market areas, residential areas,water bodies, and non-availability of open garbage dumps,” it stated. President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday gave away the awards to the winners at an event in New Delhi, also attended by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and others.

Mumbai: After bio-waste plant, Deonar waste-to-energy plant also spells trouble

After years of petitions and protests to get the biomedical waste treatment plant moved from their backyard to avoid health hazards, residents of Govandi, Deonar and Mankhurd feel they are back to square one. They have learnt that the Deonar waste-to-energy (WTE) facility being built in their neighbourhood will have an incinerator, which they fear will emit smoke. Before this, locals claim, they had little idea of what the WTE plant would be like. The residents* group Govandi New Sangam Welfare Society has been writing to Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) about it. The locals, who have been fighting for the shifting of SMS Envoclean, the city*s sole biomedical waste treatment plant in Deonar, got documents pertaining to the plans, various approvals and environment clearance granted to the WTE. They are now questioning authorities if the smoke emitted from the plant will spread pollution and pose health hazards. Locals frustrated "They are talking about air pollution control measures, etc. Can*t they give us in writing that this will not affect our health, or pollute the air? They said the same things about SMS Envoclean. We have lived with thick black smoke emitting from the SMS envoclean during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, deteriorating the health of many in the area," said Fayyaz Shaikh, a local and president of Govandi New Sangam Welfare Society. Also read: World rejects WTEs "We came across many articles that mention the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) report of 2018, according to which, the first such plant was established in Timarpur in Delhi in the year 1987, but later shut down. Further, we found that across Europe and even China, WTE plants are being proactively shut down because they are said to emit carcinogenic dioxins and furans," said Shaikh. The Deonar dumping ground, established in 1927, spans 120 hectares. Deonar receives around 600 metric tonnes (mt) of around 7,000 metric tonnes of waste generated every day in Mumbai. The Deonar WTE will have a capacity of 600 mt per day, on 12.19 hectares of land for R504 crore, at the city*s oldest dumping ground. The plant will generate 4 MW of electricity and incinerate waste. Conditions for plant The Maharashtra State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has approved BMC proposal subject to certain conditions, including the use of fly ash generated by the plant for brick manufacturing and road construction, air pollution control measures, and separate funds to implement the environmental management plan. It has directed the BMC to establish an exclusive Environment Management Cell (EMC), as well as a groundwater level monitoring system and measures to prevent groundwater pollution. Besides locals, activists and environmentalists have been opposing the project. As required by the 2006 Environment Impact Assessment Notification, which involves public input for draft impact assessments, a public hearing for the project was held on April 27, 2021. ‘BMC did not inform* Bilal Khan, a social activist of Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan, said, "Less than 100 people were in attendance at the hearing, in fact, only one resident from Deonar was in attendance. This was because of the pandemic and because the civic body did not inform people properly. Asked what the BMC did to inform locals about the hearing, its officials told me a notice about the hearing was published in newspapers. The majority of locals do not know anything about this project. It is the government*s responsibility to inform them and make them aware about every process involved." MPCB Member Secretary Ashok Shingare said, "It is the responsibility of BMC to ensure the safety of the people there. It is difficult for me to comment on the details of the project as I have not seen the plan or report. However, if residents have issues pertaining to pollution and have written to us we will look into the matter."

15 reasons why Delhi hopes for cleaner winter

NEW DELHI: Counting on over 1,800 teams for vigilance and action, 521 water sprinklers, over 350 anti-smog guns and around 3,500 paryavaran mitras, or volunteers, and with the “public’s cooperation”, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is ready to tackle the air pollution crisis likely this winter. The CM unveiled a 15-point plan on Friday and asserted he would win the fight against pollution with the cooperation of Delhiites. sdjkf The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to fight air pollution will be implemented from Saturday, October 1, and Delhi government plans to ensure strict action under the plan. In August, Delhi government announced measures to curb pollution during the winter months, with the top priorities being checking harvest stubble burning, vehicular emissions, industrial pollution, dust and open burning. At the online press conference on Friday, Kejriwal did not mention Punjab, the source of most of the farm fire pollutants, but reiterated that the government would undertake spray of bio-decomposer for free in Delhi to prevent field fires. Announcing the 15-point winter action Plan, Kejriwal said, “First, we have tackled the issue of stubble burning. Pusa Institute has developed a bio-decomposer in liquid form, which we are distributing free to Delhi’s farmers for spraying on their fields. We have been using this method for the past 2-3 years and it has shown great results.” The CM said that monitoring teams had been formed to implement other steps in the 15-point plan. "Delhi has 203 roads with heavy traffic. We have prepared alternative routes to divert traffic from such roads,” he said, adding that the 13 pollution hotspots in the city will be under strict surveillance. Kejriwal requested citizens to download the Green Delhi App to register complaints against garbage burning or vehicle pollution. He said Delhi government would “coordinate with the central Government and the National Capital Region states in fighting air pollution”. Adding that a similar commitment was required from NCR states and districts, Kejriwal said, "I am appealing to the neighbouring states to only allow CNG or electric vehicles to enter Delhi. Brick factories there also cause a lot of pollution and they can be ordered to implement the zig-zag technique for manufacturing bricks. Industries must also be ordered to switch to PNG. And it is important that 24x7 electricity is available in NCR.” He claimed his government had reduced pollution in Delhi through uninterrupted power supply, closing of thermal plants, regular inspection construction sites, getting industries to switch to PNG, increasing green cover, promoting e-vehicles, inducting electric and CNG buses in the public transport fleet and erecting smog towers. Some reports, however, say that pollution was worse in 2021 than in 2019 with 24 ‘severe’ AQI days in winter last year than the year previous to that. According to Centre for Science and Environment, the smog episode in Delhi in winter 2021-22 was the longest in the past three winters.

Gurugram: No farm fire season yet, but September's air quality was worst in past 5 years

GURUGRAM: The full brunt of stubble burning is yet to be felt, but the city's air quality index (AQI) is already a concern before peak pollution season. The average AQI this September was the highest in the corresponding months in five years. While September 2022 saw an average AQI of 180 (upper levels of moderate), it was 133 in September 2021, 179 in 2020, 128 in 2019 and 154 the year before. sdfafkf The city saw 19 'moderate', 10 'satisfactory' and one 'good' air day this September. In comparison, there were three 'good' days, two 'moderate' and 25 'satisfactory' days last year. Gurugram: No farm fire season yet, but September's air quality was worst in past 5 years TNN | Oct 1, 2022, 07.23 AM IST Gurugram: No farm fire season yet, but September's air quality was worst in past 5 years GURUGRAM: The full brunt of stubble burning is yet to be felt, but the city's air quality index (AQI) is already a concern before peak pollution season. The average AQI this September was the highest in the corresponding months in five years. While September 2022 saw an average AQI of 180 (upper levels of moderate), it was 133 in September 2021, 179 in 2020, 128 in 2019 and 154 the year before. sdfafkf The city saw 19 'moderate', 10 'satisfactory' and one 'good' air day this September. In comparison, there were three 'good' days, two 'moderate' and 25 'satisfactory' days last year. Congratulations! You have successfully cast your vote Experts pointed to local pollution sources like garbage burning, road dust and weather conditions for the rising pollution levels this year. "There are several factors for the worse air quality this September. First, the monsoon has been erratic this year. There has also been a rise in other sources of pollution, such as construction activities, vehicular movement and expansion of road networks," said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy) at the Centre for Science and Environment. While emission sources for a defined area remain more or less the same throughout the year, the concentration varies with the season, experts said. For instance, air quality in north India usually deteriorates after the monsoon, which is the transition phase, because of low wind speed and temperature. It is believed that a wind speed of 2m/s or below can lead to surging pollution levels. "Yes, we need to consider the meteorological conditions and compare them with those in 2018. There was definitely a rise in commercial and industrial activity that led to a rise in pollutants this time," said Shubhansh Tiwari, a research associate at the Amity Centre for Air Pollution Control. Officials in the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) pointed out that the region showed an overwhelming impact of dust for several days in the first two weeks of September as it rained intermittently. "Loose crystal soil and high wind effect in the Indo-Gangetic plain lead to an increase in dust levels. Vehicular traffic adds to it. Dust is a carrier of toxins from combustion sources and can therefore be harmful. However, the strategy to address this problem has to be diverse and not limited to only cleaning and sweeping of roads. Much of this problem is created by the lack of management at construction sites. For now, we are getting boards that will display the AQI of various areas real time. Action can be taken accordingly," said Kuldeep Singh, the HSPCB regional officer in Gurugram. The city recorded an AQI of 153 on Friday. While Gwal Pahari registered 108, Teri Gram showed 172 and Sector 51 179. No data was recorded at Vikas Sadan. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'. According to guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board, when the AQI is in the 'moderate' category, there can be breathing discomfort among people with asthma and lung or heart diseases.

'Finer' Plan To Fight Air Pollution To Come Into Force From Oct 1

In Delhi, officials said the environment department will be using the new real-time source apportionment system which will help ascertain the contribution of all pollution sources in real time. The green war room will monitor violations and redress complaints and grievances in keeping with the practice being followed for the last two years. A 'finer' Graded Response Action Plan -- a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in the national capital and its vicinity according to the severity of the situation -- will come into from October 1 and environment experts believe advance action this year will lead to lesser incidences of severe pollution. Earlier, GRAP would come into effect from October 15. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a statutory body established in August 2021, for management of air quality in Delhi-NCR decided to implement GRAP early, considering suggestions from the public and experts that advance action can prevent drastic deterioration in air quality. Under the revised GRAP, curbs can be imposed on polluting activities up to three days in advance based on forecasts. Earlier, the authorities would implement the measures only after the PM2.5 and PM10 concentration touched a particular threshold. This time, restrictions will be based on air quality index (AQI) values rather than PM2.5 and PM10 concentration. Vivek Chattopadhyaya, Senior Programme Manager, Clean Air Programme, Centre for Science and Environment, said: "The pre-emptive action should prevent the sudden deterioration of the air quality unless meteorological conditions become highly unfavorable." "The agencies should strengthen their baseline level action so that there is no need for emergency measures. They should be able to foresee a contingency and prepare a fool proof plan to deal with it, such as arranging CNG carriers and trucks for continuous supply of essential items," he said. Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, hoped that advance action would lead to lesser incidences of severe air quality. "However, only sustained awareness campaigns and continuous engagement with all stakeholders will resolve the problems such as stubble burning. Action just before the stubble burning period is unlikely to yield good results," he said. In Delhi, officials said the environment department will be using the new real-time source apportionment system which will help ascertain the contribution of all pollution sources in real time. The green war room will monitor violations and redress complaints and grievances in keeping with the practice being followed for the last two years. Dr Mahesh Narang, the head of the farm engineering department at Punjab Agricultural University, said the "finer" GRAP and preemptive curbs will prevent a repeat of the air quality crisis seen on Diwali and the following days last year due to the convergence of emissions from farm fires and firecrackers. "Stubble burning peaks in November and Diwali is on October 24. This is a crucial factor. So, it may not lead to a severe situation on Diwali provided all other measures are followed strictly," he said. "The government has provided more machines for the management of stubble this year. We hope for better results," Narang said. GRAP has now been classified under four different stages of adverse air quality in Delhi: Stage I - 'Poor' (AQI 201-300); Stage II - 'Very Poor' (AQI 301-400); Stage III - 'Severe' (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV - 'Severe Plus' (AQI >450). Under Stage I, the CAQM has recommended strict action against polluting industries, vehicles and biomass burning. The use of coal and firewood, including in tandoors in hotels, restaurants, open eateries; and diesel generator sets, except for emergent and essential services, is banned under Stage II. If the situation turns "severe" (Stage III), authorities will have to enforce a ban on construction and demolition activities in NCR, except on essential projects (like railways, metros, airports, ISBTs, national security/defence-related projects of national importance) and non-polluting activities such as plumbing, carpentry, interior decoration and electrical works. Brick kilns, hot mix plants and stone crushers not operating on clean fuels, and mining and associated activities in NCR will also be banned under Stage III. State governments in Delhi-NCR may also impose restrictions on BS III petrol and BS IV diesel light motor vehicles (four wheelers) under Stage III. The measures to be followed in the "Severe Plus" category or Stage IV include a ban on the entry of trucks into Delhi, and on the plying of Delhi-registered diesel-run medium goods vehicles and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in the national capital except those carrying essential commodities. The use of four-wheeler diesel light motor vehicles, except for BS-VI vehicles and vehicles engaged in essential services, will also be banned in Delhi and the bordering districts of NCR. Stage IV will also entail a ban on industries running on dirty fuels and on construction and demolition activities in linear public projects such as highways, roads, flyovers, over bridges, power transmission and pipelines. State governments can consider allowing 50 per cent staff to work from home in public, municipal and private offices, and additional emergency measures like closure of educational institutions and the plying of vehicles on odd-even basis etc.