New Delhi, Oct 4 (IANS) Flying squads of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in National Capital Region (NCR) and adjoining areas detected 17 violations of highly visible road dust and accumulation of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste during a special inspection drive on Ring Road and Outer Ring Road, an official said on Sunday.
For the inspection drive, four flying squad teams constituted by the Commission were deployed to inspect roads under the jurisdiction of the Delhi Public Works Department (PWD), the official said in a statement.
A total of 25 road stretches covering around 35 km of the Inner and Outer Ring Road were inspected during the drive conducted on Saturday, it said.
The inspection was part of CAQM’s efforts to strengthen implementation of dust mitigation measures and improve road cleanliness for effective abatement of air pollution across Delhi-NCR, the statement added.
The inspection was undertaken to assess the presence of visible road dust and the effectiveness of road-cleaning and sweeping operations along the Ring Road.
During the inspection, 17 violations of high visible road dust and accumulation of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste were reported across the inspected road stretches, the statement said.
The observations made during the inspection indicate the need for strict and effective implementation of prescribed road-cleaning, sweeping and dust mitigation measures by the concerned road-owning agencies, it added.
The Commission has emphasised that regular and effective road-cleaning and sweeping operations are critical for controlling road dust and preventing its resuspension due to vehicular movement.
Accumulation of C&D waste and visible road dust on roadsides and carriageways can contribute to resuspension of dust due to vehicular movement and adversely impact ambient air quality, the statement added.
Delhi’s Public Works Department and other agencies are being directed to take appropriate corrective measures to control road dust on priority basis, the CAQM said.
The Commission emphasised that road stretches under the jurisdiction of agencies concerned should be maintained in a clean and dust-free condition through regular sweeping, removal of accumulated dust and C&D waste, and timely corrective action.
Inspection drives will continue under Operation Clean Air across Delhi-NCR to assess on-ground implementation of various air pollution abatement measures, identify gaps in compliance and facilitate timely corrective action(s) by the concerned agencies.
–IANS
rch/khz
