CHENNAI: One of the main culprits contributing to the poor air quality in Delhi was construction-related pollution. This prompted the Supreme Court to impose a blanket ban on construction activities in the National Capital Region (NGR) in a desperate bid to help the capital breathe easy.
And Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) appears to have taken cue. In a preemptive effort, GCC has come out with exhaustive guidelines mandating builders to place barricades, cover construction sites with metal sheets to prevent dust from spilling, use anti-smog guns and to ensure vehicles carrying debris are covered with tarpaulin sheets.
It has also unveiled a penalty regimen, announcing a fine of 5 lakh a violation for buildings spread over five acres. Buildings between 0.1 acre and 5 acres will pay 50,000, and those under 0.1 acre shall pay 30,000.
The corporation will terminate construction licences for sites that do not comply with the 15-day rectification notice after paying the fines. “We have launched 47 special teams to monitor constructions in the night,” said GCC commissioner J Kumaragurubaran.
This is good news for the city, because currently at least 5,000 private construction works, on sites measuring more than an acre, are going on in the city. According to GCC’s latest guidelines, these builders should raise 10m-high tin or metal sheets to prevent dust from spilling over.
The rules also mandate builders to use anti-smog guns on dust-emitting sources and water fogging activities to prevent dust emission. Vehicles transporting debris must be covered with tarpaulin sheets, and they must dump only in authorized zones.
Kumaragurubaran said they have also ordered mandatory wheel-washing of vehicles coming out of construction sites. “Dust from wheels often gathers up on roads, and GCC is burdened to collect them. We have communicated this to metro rail too,” he said. Also, construction sites are mandated to give 24/7 CCTV access to GCC.
Residents can post their suggestions at swmcleanconstruction@gmail(dot)com within 30 days.
Avinash Chanchal, climate campaigner, Green Peace India, said construction pollution contributes majorly to the city’s air and waterbody pollution. “Chennai’s air quality is usually three or four times higher than WHO-prescribed standard. This can be addressed with small and localized interventions,” he said.
Residents complain that public and private construction sites barely comply with dust cleaning norms. Dr Yuvaraj Gupta, a dentist at Kelly’s, said metro rail drilling and digging work often throws mud onto the roads, which accumulates over time. “This causes skidding to motorists,” he said. The case is no different with stormwater drain constructions on highways, including the 200-feet radial road, leading to dust accumulation on lane sides. GCC only has minimal dust-suck machines which only ply for a few hours on arterial roads.
People also complain of improper waste disposal by construction sites. Though the guidelines now mandate workers to transport their construction debris and dump them in the 15 GCC-designated spots, workers often dump them on the banks of the Cooum and Adyar river.
Metro rail recently dumped its dug-up earth along the Besant Nagar Broken Bridge. The corporation collects an average of 300 tonnes of debris waste from river banks and also in the Thiruvanmiyur beach.
