Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has been reviewing air quality and meteorological scenario in Delhi-NCR on continuous basis. As per the forecast received from Indian Meteorological 

Department, the ventilation conditions are likely to slow down in Delhi causing poor dispersion of pollutants due to which, AQI is predicted to be in Very Poor category for coming days. 

In view of deteriorating air quality and likely increase in activities during New Year celebrations, CPCB had

issued an order on 23.12.2020 directing Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and SPCBs in NCR states namely, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan to ensure the following:

●Hot mix plants and stone crushers shall remain closed all the time till January 02, 2021. 

●Frequency of mechanized cleaning of roads and water sprinkling to be increased particularly on the road stretches with high dust generation potential.

●It shall be ensured that guidelines/standard operating procedures for dust mitigation at construction sites are strictly adhered to. In case of violations, strict action should be taken against the violators like imposition of penalty/ temporary stoppage of construction activities.

●Agencies must ensure compliance of orders of Hon’ble Courts and National Green Tribunal regarding banning of sale and use of firecrackers.

As per Hon’ble NGT order dated October 15, 2019, in the matter of Utkarsh Panwar Vs. Central Pollution Control Board, all brick kilns in NCR are already closed.

CPCB has deployed 50 teams for field inspections in Delhi –NCR (with special emphasis on hotspots) since 15th of October this year, to assess the ground level scenario and ensure enforcement of mitigation measures for control of air pollution in Delhi-NCR. These teams have been visiting pollution hotspots and other areas in Delhi NCR region and reporting the violations of various guidelines/norms by posting these on the SAMEER App.

DPCC, SPCBs of NCR states and various central and state agencies have been requested to take effective steps immediately which will help in controlling pollution.

CPCB urges public to provide feedback on polluting activities through SAMEER App which can be downloaded from Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cpcb) and App store(https://apps.apple.com/in/developer/central-pollution-control-board/id1186664743?l=hi) for android and IOS respectively.

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GK