The 126th meeting of the Enforcement Task Force (ETF) of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) was held on February 20 to review enforcement and inspection activities undertaken across the National Capital Region (NCR) from February 4-18, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said on Tuesday.
The Task Force comprehensively reviewed the inspections carried out by flying squads across key sectors contributing to air pollution, including industrial units, construction and demolition (C&D) activities, road dust, diesel generator (DG) sets and incidents relating to municipal solid waste (MSW) and biomass burning.
The remaining enforcement actions arising out of violations reported in the 125th ETF meeting were also examined, along with proposed actions in respect of violations identified during the period.
During the reporting period, a total of 318 inspections, including four in the C&D sector, 306 in the industrial sector and eight related to diesel generator (DG) sets violations were carried out by the flying squads across NCR, out of which 131 violations, including four from C&D sector, 123 (reports received till the morning of February 20) from the industrial sector and four for DG sets were reported.
Further, closure has been proposed for 39 units, sealing of DG sets for 10 units, show-cause notices (SCNs) have been issued to 15 units, and 28 reports are under examination.
During the meeting, particular emphasis was laid on the inspection of road dust mitigation measures, including mechanised road sweeping, water sprinkling, maintenance of paved shoulders, and compliance with prescribed norms.
The inspection findings were reviewed in detail, and the agencies concerned were advised to ensure on-ground vigilance and strict adherence to dust abatement measures, especially in high traffic corridors and urban hotspots.
Further, as per the cumulative enforcement status as on February 23, a total of 26,328 units, projects and entities have been inspected so far by the Commission’s flying squads.
Based on these inspections, 1,686 closure directions have been issued so far for non-compliance.
Out of these, 1,290 resumption orders have been issued after verification of compliance by the respective units.
Further, 123 cases have been transferred to the respective State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) for final decision, while resumption orders for the remaining 273 entities are under examination in accordance with due process.
The Commission reiterates its commitment to consistent efforts towards the abatement of air pollution in the NCR with sustained enforcement and coordinated action among the agencies concerned.