Pollution board fines NHAI, HSIIDC officials Rs 10L each

The regional office of Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has fined the Project Director, National Highway Authorities of India (NHAI), Sonepat, and Senior Manager, Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC), Bahadurgarh, Rs 10 lakh each.

The environmental compensation has been imposed for the non-compliance of directions issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) under stage-II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to prevent further deterioration of the air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Both the authorities were also recently issued show-cause notice for committing negligence in complying with the directives, but they did not pay heed, forcing the HSPCB authorities to impose a penalty on them.

Sources said HSPCB’s officials Amit Kumar and Chanderkant Sharma had inspected the under-construction stretch of the Bahadurgarh bypass at the Balor Chowk underpass, Badli Chowk, Jhajjar Chowk, Beri Chowk underpass and adjoining service lanes some days ago. The work comes under the jurisdiction of the NHAI.

“A lot of dust was found accumulating along the Bahadurgarh bypass median/divider/sideways on the Rohtak-Delhi Highway due to the ongoing construction. Building material was lying uncovered while no water sprinkling was being used, and no anti-smog guns were in operation for mitigation of dust emissions. In fact, a lot of construction and debris were lying dumped along the road/medians/sideways,” said a source.

He maintained that various stretches on the main highway as well as service roads were also lying unpaved/without layer, leading to a lot of dust emission in the vicinity.

Besides illegal dumping, solid waste was found burning at HSIIDC in Sector-17 and Sector-4B in Bahadurgarh town during the inspection. It led to action for non-compliance of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

Shakti Singh, Regional Officer, HSPCB, Bahadurgarh, confirmed that the environmental compensation of Rs 10 lakh each had been imposed on the NHAI’s project director and HSIIDC’s Senior Manager for not adhering to the instructions issued under the Stage-II of GRAP.

“A round-the-clock surveillance is being done in the region to ensure the execution of the instructions for improving the air quality index in Jhajjar district. Immediate action is taken as soon as any complaint about the burning of solid waste and dust is received,” Singh added.

Meanwhile, Pradeep Dahiya, Deputy Commissioner, said all efforts were being made to improve the air quality in the district.

“Officials of all departments concerned have been directed to ensure proper compliance of the instructions issued under GRAP stage-II. They have even been asked to conduct inspections of vulnerable areas in regular intervals,” said Dahiya, adding that appropriate action was being taken for any negligence.