East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) Commissioner Vikas Anand on Saturday said that the civic body was taking “intense measures” to curb pollution in areas under its jurisdiction with a total of 128 teams deployed to monitor the situation on a regular basis.
Water sprinklers
The civic body has deployed 40 water sprinklers, 10 mechanical road sweepers, 12 jetting machines and three anti-smog machines as a part of its anti-pollution measures, a senior EDMC official said.
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He said: “The 128 teams have been divided into two groups of 64. These teams monitor and help curb pollution-causing activities on a daily basis . Close to 700 km of roads under the EDMC’s jurisdiction are being covered by the machines. The teams keep a close watch on pollution-causing activities like burning of tyres and construction waste.”
The senior civic body official said nearly ₹9 lakh has been issued in fines and close to ₹2.25 lakh has been collected.
“A recurring issue among the violations is the improper disposal of garbage, which mostly involves domestic waste. Construction and demolition waste (C&D) has also been among the violations. There have been instances where the waste has not been disposed of at designated disposal plants,” he said.
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Mr. Anand said that the civic body is currently in the process of “educating residents” to follow segregation of waste, but the results will take some time.
Previously, Mr. Anand had said the individuals in residential areas will have to ensure proper segregation of waste prior to collection from December 1, and that penalties would be imposed on violators. The deadline for commercial establishments to ensure waste segregation had kicked in from November 1.
According to Delhi’s Solid Waste Management by-laws, which were notified in 2018, the responsibility of segregating the waste — into wet waste, dry waste and domestic hazardous waste — falls on those who generate it.