NEW DELHI: Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has submitted an action-taken report to National Green Tribunal (NGT) on the pollution caused by dumping of construction and demolition waste near residential complexes in Vasant Kunj.
In the report, DPCC stated to have issued a show cause notice to Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and an environmental compensation of Rs 1 lakh was imposed.
The tribunal had constituted a joint committee of DDA, DPCC and district magistrate (South West Delhi) in Sept 2022 to verify the factual position about heavy vehicular movement and dumping of construction material on the vacant land adjacent to Sector E-2, Vasant Kunj.
After inspecting the area in Dec 2022, the committee issued directions under Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986 along with Construction and Demolition Waste Rules, 2016 to DDA and MCD. As the issue remained unresolved, NGT in Nov 2023 ordered the DPCC to issue show cause notices and impose penalty on the DDA and MCD.
“DPCC has issued show cause notice on Jan 5, 2024 for imposition of Environmental Damage Compensation of Rs 1,00,000 to the superintendent engineer, DDA for past violations and damage to the environment,” stated DPCC report dated Jan 11, uploaded on NGT website on Saturday.
A similar show cause for damages of Rs one lakh was sent to MCD deputy commissioner (Najafgarh Zone), said the report, adding both agencies were yet to submit their replies to the concerned authority.
In 2022, residents of Sector RE02 and E-1, Vasant Kunj approached NGT regarding pollution caused by continuous heavy vehicular movement due to presence of godowns, big cargo stores, warehouses in Rangpuri Pahari area causing serious health hazard to residents.
