Govt to frame rules in 15 days to curb dust in Delhi

Considering dust particles as the main reason for the rising air pollution in Delhi, the government will unveil within 15 days the norms to curb generation of dust during construction activities.
The Environment Ministry has decided to frame rules and hold exhaustive consultations with four neighbouring states besides Delhi Municipal Corporation and Delhi Police to chalk out immediate steps to tackle the air pollution challenge.
"We held meetings with the environment ministers of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan yesterday and discussed the issue in detail. We have decided to meet on April 13 again where officials of municipal corporations and Delhi police will also be called.

"We have taken the first step. Construction waste is a big challenge as most of the dust through it including PM2.5 and PM10. We will frame the rules in 15 days, which will be posted on the website. Suggestions from public will also be invited before implementing them within two months," Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters here.
The Minister had said yesterday that his ministry has taken cognisance of the hazards posed by construction waste. He had said that if the dust is properly managed in the construction of Metro, why couldn't it be managed in constructions going across the city.

This comes after media reports said that there has been an increase in lethal dust which causes severe health hazards because of the rise in construction of infrastructure in Delhi and NCR regions.
Talking about Delhi, Javadekar noted that whatever action is possible to control pollution, it is a "must".
"Its a daily fight. We can't sit back after taking a major step. We have always sat back. Its a war which we have to fight everyday. It's an air-shed treatment by taking everybody. Yesterday, we all (Ministers) met and decided to come out with concrete plans. Let us build up that action," he said.