It may seem like an innocuous report buried in the inside pages of a newspaper, but it represents an issue with an enormous fallout on the lives of a city’s population and the air it breathes.
According to information put out, the Delhi Public Works Department has instructed firms working on its construction projects to install CCTV cameras and PM 2.5 and PM 10 pollution sensors at their sites, or else pay fines ranging from ₹500 to ₹2,000.
It has also asked them to set up protective screens at their sites, install anti-smog guns, and demarcate enclosed spaces for grinding and cutting material. Besides this, construction material needs to be kept covered and water sprinkled on unpaved areas from time to time to keep in check air pollution levels generated due to Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste.
The action followed a pilot study by the department in collaboration with the Air Pollution Action Group (A-PAG) which works with government agencies to combat air pollution. The study found construction sites were not fully compliant and not following guidelines of the Commission for Air Quality Management.
Delhi is not an isolated case. Most construction sites across cities are equally guilty and need a study and action plan. Last December when the Centre for Science and Environment released its report, “Construction and Demolition Waste: Closing the loop for sustainability,” CSE director general Sunita Narain noted: “A decade back, the concern with C&D waste was not about air pollution, but about saving waterbodies from the dumping of this waste. By 2018-19 it was about dust in the air which was contributing to pollution. “
With “development” being equated with construction, C&D waste has only risen. There is no current database on C&D waste generated, but an old estimation pins it at 12-15 million tonnes annually. However, this may be much more given the construction industry projects turnover to touch $1.4 trillion by 2025, contributing 13 per cent to the economy.
India has increased its material consumption six times from 1.18 billion tonne in 1970 to seven billion tonne in 2015. And its resource extraction rate stands at 1,580 tonne per acre as compared to the world average of 450 tonne per acre. While India imports many raw materials such as sand, it has a lower recycling rate at 20-25 per cent compared to developed EU countries (70 per cent).