Environment Minister Reviews Action Plans To Tackle Air Pollution in Ghaziabad and Noida

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Mr Bhupender Yadav, chaired a high-level meeting on Monday, 15 December, to conduct a detailed review of the Action Plans for Ghaziabad and Noida to tackle air pollution in the two cities. 

This was the first review in a series of meetings on city-specific action plans in the NCR, which would culminate in a state-level review in the coming days.

The review is being conducted in the prescribed format, as requested by the Minister during the earlier review meeting on 03 December, to assess progress and strengthen on-the-ground implementation. 

Detailed presentations were given by the senior officers from the two cities on the action taken. The detailed review of the action plans was undertaken based on the following key parameters:

• Adoption of smart traffic management systems to curb vehicular emissions;
• Compliance of industrial units with prescribed pollution norms;
• Status of commercial electric vehicle (EV) fleet and availability of charging infrastructure;
• Strengthening end-to-end public transport systems and parking facilities;
• Infrastructure augmentation for management of Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste and Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)/legacy waste;
• End-to-end paving/tiling of roads to reduce dust generation;
• Status of deployment of Mechanical Road Sweeping Machines (MRSMs) and use of anti-smog guns/water sprinklers;
• Greening of pathways and open areas;
• Jan Bhagidari initiatives, including IEC activities and app-based grievance redressal mechanisms, inter alia.

The Minister took an update from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on the installation of Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) in the remaining industrial units, along with the status of on-site inspections and handholding support being provided for installations.

He directed strict adherence to the 31st December deadline for OCEMS installation and instructed that stringent action be taken against non-compliant units. CPCBs and SPCBs were also directed to inspect polluting and delinquent industries in peri-urban areas and undertake required corrective measures.

Mr Yadav requested that the Commission for Air Quality Management in Delhi-NCR (CAQM) further fine-tune the parameters used to implement city action plans and compile them to review the progress of Delhi-NCR as a whole in the coming days.

He emphasised the need to upgrade the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) parameters to enable rational allocation of funds to better-performing cities. The Minister also stressed the active involvement of public representatives and citizens in the on-the-ground implementation of action plans and greening activities, so that pollution control becomes a genuine Jan Bhagidari movement.

Offering specific suggestions, the Minister advised Municipal Authorities to partner with their respective Forest Departments to plant heat-resistant, low-water-requiring indigenous varieties of bushes and grasses as part of greening efforts.

He also called for the development of integrated waste management plans through coordinated efforts among government and municipal agencies, avoiding siloed approaches and resource duplication. CAQM was requested to devise a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the utilisation of urban open spaces for greening and improved urban planning.

The Minister further suggested conducting a study to identify popular routes and corridors for bulk traffic movement in Delhi-NCR, followed by the provision of end-to-end public transport facilities, at least on these major routes.

He emphasised that municipal action plans should be not only responsive to current challenges but also future-ready, including the early identification of urban sites for processing increasing volumes of MSW and C&D waste.

The meeting was attended by the Chairman (CAQM), Secretary (MoRTH), senior officers of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, representatives of the Uttar Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (UPSPCB), along with the DM and Municipal Commissioner (Ghaziabad) and the CEO (Noida Authority).