Civic commissioners pulled up for pollution

Assembly panel asks for action plans

The Environment Committee of the Delhi Assembly, headed by AAP MLA Atishi, on Monday pulled up the commissioners of the BJP-ruled municipal corporations over rising levels of dust and air pollution.

The panel said such pollution is caused by manual sweeping of roads.

Mechanical sweeping

“It was very shocking that the municipal commissioners of Delhi have no clue regarding the length of roads meant to be swept mechanically under their jurisdiction. How will they ensure a dust-free Delhi?” said Ms. Atishi.

The committee has asked all three municipal corporations to submit action plans for reducing dust pollution.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, under the Delhi government, has been asked to take strict action against individual officers responsible for dust pollution.

“Environment Committee summoned the 3 MCDs today regarding rising dust levels and air pollution in Delhi, and sought an explanation as to why mechanical sweeping was not being done. Negligence of all 3 MCDs was shocking,” Ms. Atishi said in a tweet.

“The corporations highlighted that the contracts [for mechanical road sweepers] were based on shift basis rather than the total area covered by them daily. The committee in this regard was surprised and showed displeasure for not adding length/areas covered as a clause for the contact. It further questioned the lack of a mechanism for checks and balances to achieve efficient output levels,” read an official statement.

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