Particulate matter double the limit

Jolted by a steady increase in particulate matter in the air,the Delhi Pollution Control Committee has written to all civic agencies involved in construction activities to keep the dust levels down.

Dust raked up by construction for the Commonwealth Games has taken the level of suspended matter to more than double the standard limit. The letter exhorts construction agencies to enforce mandatory norms for construction sites,like keeping sand covered at all times and sprinkling water around the construction site to avoid suspended dust.

But a check by Newsline revealed that none of these safeguards are in place. Along the stretch from Mall Road to Chattarsal Stadium,where road facades are being redone,there is a pall of dust from construction material kept on the road. Near Rajghat,where a Ring Road bypass is being built,there are no measures for keeping dust off the road.

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While levels have been going up and down last year,this year,they have at 200 microgram per cubic meter. The permissible standard is 40-60 mg/m3.

Based on ambient air quality data we have found that the particulate matter levels have gone up. So we have written to all agencies to put in place the measures required to check dispersal of particulate matter, says DPCC member secretary A K Ambasht.

But no action has followed since. It is up to the civic agencies to enforce these rules. Larger projects which require environmental clearance have a mandatory clause to prevent dust from rising on their sites, says Environment Secretary Dharmendra.

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