As the Capital grapples with toxic air, the authorities have stepped up efforts to check burning of garbage in the open but environmentalists say the problem will persist till infrastructure to collect and process the waste is not put in place.
In October, the Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority, rapped the three civic bodies — North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation — for garbage burning and directed them to step up patrols.
It also asked the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to appoint environment marshals to check the burning of garbage, said EPCA chairman Bhure Lal. “We even told them to file FIRs against habitual offenders,” he added.
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Since the start of November, the corporations have been conducting regular night patrols and issuing challans, said spokespersons of the three civic bodies.
₹5,000 fine
“We have been instructed to extinguish the fire and also nab the culprit, who is to be fined ₹5,000. However, at times, it is not easy to nab the perpetrators,” a north body official said, adding that the corporation had formed 43 teams of three to four people from various departments to conduct the patrols. On the other hand, the SDMC has about 55 teams for the same.
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The data from the corporations stated that the north body has issued 624 challans for garbage burning this year while the SDMC has issued up to 484 challans.
Interestingly, the number of challans issued by the north body shot up in October to 246 from 12 in September. Data from the east body was not furnished in time for this story. Mr. Lal believes the incidence of garbage burning has gone down.
“On inspecting Narela and Bawana industrial areas, we found plastic and rubber bring burnt. Since then up to 16,590 metric tonnes of garbage has been lifted from the area and sent to energy plant,” he said, adding: “But the problem still persists, especially near jhuggis and unauthorised colonies.”
A senior north body official said garbage collection is not regular in those areas because of which its incidence is higher.
A 2016 study on air pollution in the Capital by professors at IIT Kanpur, stated that Municipal Solid Waste burning — about 190-246 tonnes estimated to be burnt daily — contributes to about 9-8% of the PM 10- PM 2.5 in the air.
Garbage burning along with biomass burning is one of the most variable contributors to emissions but it it estimated to be marginally higher in the winters, it added.
Sunil Dhaiya, a clean air campaigner with Greenpeace said: “When garbage is burnt, it releases a cocktail of carcinogens into the air. Especially when the waste is not even segregated, it contains heavy metals, plastics and all kinds of toxins.”
The study also stated: “Open burning of any type of wastes including agricultural wastes, garden wastes, municipal wastes or residential wastes, due to incomplete combustion release hazardous pollutants which include PM, CO, PAH (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons), SOx, NOx, VOC. A very high concentration of these pollutants is observed in the smoke during waste burning.”
Chitra Mukherjee of Chintan — an NGO — advocate better waste management said while patrolling was one approach to the problem, processing the garbage is another. “Garbage burning takes place completely at random. Hardly anyone is aware of the fines being imposed. Besides how much can you control it? The question is not levying more fines but to put up proper infrastructure to collect and process garbage.”
Ms. Mukherjee added that proper implementation of municipal solid waste management rules would help put an end to the problem.