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Citywide Survey to Identify Unregistered Construction Projects for Environmental Compliance

By Rishabh Chamoli | 2023-06-08

The local pollution board has formulated plans to carry out a comprehensive survey in the city with the objective of identifying construction and demolition projects that have not been registered on the governments online portal. This initiative is aimed at ensuring strict adherence to environmental regulations.

As per the guidelines given by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR, construction sites exceeding 500 square meters in size are obligated to install PM2.5 and PM10 sensors. These sensors are crucial in providing real time data to the online portal.

According to officials from the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), none of the construction sites within the city has adhered to the mandatory sensor installation requirement. The district administration estimates that there are approximately 3,000 large-scale construction sites, but disappointingly, only a mere 5% (176 sites) have registered on the dust pollution control portal.

To address this issue, Kuldeep Singh, the regional officer of HSPCB in Gurgaon, has confirmed the initiation of a survey to determine the exact number of unregistered large construction sites. It is worth noting that some construction sites may be temporarily inactive but still remain unregistered. The survey will be carried out by six teams from HSPCB, each consisting of three members. The survey is scheduled to commence this month and will be conducted over two weeks.

Projects found to be in violation of the regulations will face penalties. Consequently, construction activities will be halted, and the developers will be subjected to prosecution in the environmental court. These responsible units must take immediate corrective measures as they are responsible for contributing to pollution.

Haryana took the initiative to implement real time pollution monitoring at construction sites in January, following the directives issued by the CAQM in October 2021. The online portal incorporates a live dashboard that provides up to date information on the ambient air quality in specific areas.

Alongside the mandatory sensor installation, construction sites must enclose the work area with green sheets, utilize water sprinklers, and cover vehicles transporting construction and demolition waste. These measures are intended to mitigate dust pollution effectively.