Delhi’s noisy days and nights are over,pollution board to keep tab

The only other kind of pollution that is constantly being checked – with data collected by the hour or every eight hours – is air pollution.

Furthermore,two new ‘sounds’ have now been included within the ambit of noise pollution,that from construction of buildings and from musical instruments. The latter categorise the sounds of music from weddings and public religious functions.

While the standards for noise will remain the same — limited to 55 decibels for residential areas in the day,and 45 decibels at night,the effort will be to establish levels of violation through constant study. The pollution board has defined night hours as those between 10 pm and 6 am.

“For the first time,we are setting up automated monitoring units which will continuously monitor noise. In Delhi’s case,the violations need to be checked by the Delhi Police. Often,many violations have occurred in Delhi. We will submit reports to the government the moment we come across any,” says S P Gautam,Chairman,CPCB.

It can be mentioned here that several constructions in the city are in the hectic last phase,with deadlines looming before the Commonwealth Games later this year.

The focus will also be on noisy neighbours,with a revision of the existing Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules. “A major issue of concern in cities like Delhi are neighbours. Neighbours now cannot exceed the limits by 5 decibels,” Gautam says.

Board sources said noise pollution has so far escaped attention as the traditional focus has always been on air and water pollution. As a result,noise limits have been grossly ignored by citizens.

In 2009,the monthly data collected by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee shows that Karawal Nagar registered an average of 65 decibels during the day.

The nights are not peaceful either. In 2009,completely residential areas like Vasant Kunj registered decibel levels near 60.

In 2008,Sarita Vihar at 69 decibels,Shanti Vihar at 65.9 decibels and Tilak Nagar at 65 decibels were among the noisiest during the day. Defence Colony was the loudest in October with day and night figures of 64 and 57.4 decibels respectively.