Gurgaon:Huda pressed five machines to sprinkle water, penalised those flouting green norms

The Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) on Wednesday submitted its report on action taken to curb air pollution under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to state pollution watchdog. Officials stated that Huda had pressed five water tankers into service to sprinkle water at areas that were most polluted. They said that five parties were also penalised for flouting green norms.

Though residents breathed easier on Tuesday and Wednesday, as air quality index was at 350 and 355, respectively, there were several instances of open burning of garbage across the city.

“We have received the action-taken report from Huda, in which it had mentioned that five violators were found dispersing dust from their units,” JB Sharma, regional officer, Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), said.

On October 30, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had asked the Gurgaon pollution department to take note of the action taken by the civic bodies and various departments.

This came as the air quality index of the city continued to remain in the ‘severe’ category after Diwali.

On October 31, the HSPCB asked the civic bodies, traffic police, and residents’ welfare associations to submit timely reports on action taken to reduce pollution. MCG and National Highways Authority of India had also submitted their reports on the action taken.

“We have received more than six complaints of open garbage burning in the city areas and have asked MCG and our team to take action,” Sharma said.

Though the pollutants were dispersed during the day because of good wind speed, the city was engulfed in smog by the evening. “Prolonged poor air quality in the city cannot be solved by wind speed. Implementation of GRAP is the solution. The administration has to increase public transport systems in the national capital region to curb air pollution,” Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said.