Gurgaon: Around 1,000 construction and demolition (C&D) sites in the city will be given 10 days to plug gaps in dust-control and monitoring measures.After the 10-day verification exercise, sites found to be non-compliant will be issued closure notices and given five days to respond.Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) is preparing to initiate closure proceedings against non-compliant sites ahead of the winter pollution season.Around 250 C&D sites in Faridabad will also be covered under the exercise, which is being undertaken across Haryana’s NCR districts.Every year, Delhi-NCR witnesses heavy smog and deterioration of air quality levels during winter.Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is implemented every year as a result, with measures including banning of diesel gensets, mechanised cleaning and sprinkling of water on roads and closing down brick kilns, hot-mix plants, stone crushers or any other factory that pushes up air pollution levels.HSPCB member secretary Yogesh Kumar said officials would verify whether dust-monitoring portals and cameras installed at construction sites were functional and whether dust-mitigation measures were actually being implemented on the ground.Kumar told TOI, “We are planning to ensure that all C&D sites have a display board with all compliance measures written on it. Monitoring should be live all the time.”The compliance boards will list the measures being followed at each site, including installation of wind barriers, sprinkling arrangements and other dust-suppression measures.Developers will also be expected to carry out self-audits of their dust-monitoring systems and other compliance measures.The board has directed all NCR districts in Haryana to ensure that dust-monitoring portals are working and properly linked and that cameras installed at C&D sites remain functional.The emphasis is on continuous monitoring so that authorities can check compliance remotely instead of relying only on periodic inspections.HSPCB said further action, including closure and environmental compensation, would be initiated after the notice period expires or after replies are received from the concerned project proponents, whichever is earlier.Registration on the monitoring portal is mandatory under directions issued by Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for C&D projects on plots measuring 500 square metres or more across NCR.The framework requires such projects to install PM2.5 and PM10 sensors linked to a live dashboard and set up video fencing with remote connectivity for round-the-clock monitoring of dust-mitigation measures.The system was introduced to allow pollution-control authorities to track compliance and pollution levels at construction sites remotely.However, compliance gaps have continued to be detected despite the framework being in place for more than three years.The latest exercise will focus on whether the systems required under the framework are actually operational and whether developers are implementing dust-control measures at their sites.Officials will also check measures aimed at preventing fugitive dust from construction material, debris and movement of vehicles, besides the functioning of sprinkling arrangements and wind barriers.Kumar said the measures were being planned with the winter pollution season in mind.“These are the measures we are planning to ensure that AQI does not exceed the severe category in Haryana’s NCR districts during the upcoming winter,” he said.The exercise will cover a large number of construction sites simultaneously, giving HSPCB a citywide compliance window before the period when stagnant atmospheric conditions can worsen pollution levels in NCR.
