Himachal: SPCB takes steps to check air pollution due to road projects

Ambika Sharma

Solan, April 24

Facing flak for failing to control air pollution in industrial hubs like Baddi where the town topped nationally for its poor air quality in January for days in succession, the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) has stepped up its efforts to check air pollution from road expansion projects.

Road dust was found to have contributed 17 to 24 per cent to the air pollution in Baddi, as per a source apportionment study conducted by the IIT Kanpur. Key construction projects, including four-laning of the Baddi-Nalagarh national highway, as well as laying of a railway track, are underway in the Baddi industrial belt.

Baddi’s poor air quality

• The pollution board makes it mandatory for highway construction projects to seek consent to establish and operate. Baddi topped nationally for its poor air quality in January for days
• Key construction projects, including four-laning of the Baddi-Nalagarh national highway, as well as laying of a railway track, are underway in the Baddi belt.
• The pollution control board move will ensure that measures to check air pollution like sprinkling water to settle road dust and checking unscientific dumping of muck are in place

“The board has been at the receiving end from various courts besides the National Green Tribunal for failing to ensure scientific dumping of the muck from road expansion projects. Such dumps have caused ecological disasters during the rains, thus necessitating the need to regulate muck dumping,” said Anil Joshi, Member Secretary, SPCB.

In a bid to ensure adherence of norms, the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) has made it mandatory for the highway construction projects to seek consent to establish and operate. This will ensure that measures to check air pollution like sprinkling water to settle road dust as well as check muck unscientific dumping.

The new highway construction project was brought under the orange category of sectors having a sizable pollution index in February 2021.

Industries having pollution index score between 41 and 59 have been categorised as orange industries by the Central Pollution Control Board. This index captures overall quality of the environment covering ambient air, surface water and land by following algorithm of pollution sources, pathways and receptors.

Anil Joshi further added that, “A clarification has been issued by the board due to confusion among the project executors on including highway construction projects, both existing and expansion, in the orange category of sectors. This clarification will make it mandatory for such projects, comprising both state and national highway, to seek consent to establish and operate which is mandatory for this category.”

Notably, the new highway construction projects were being misinterpreted for the applicability of consent under the provisions of sector 25 of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution), Act, 1981, in case of expansion and modernisation of the existing highways.

Clarifying this Joshi said, “Since the pollution potential of a new road construction project as well as its expansion is similar in nature, this provision would be applicable in both cases.”