Coming soon: Construction waste management rules

Environment minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday said his ministry would notify the new construction and demolition waste management rules by December, creating a set of dos and don’ts for construction, to minimise dust flow to the atmosphere.

This is one of the steps that Javadekar claims his ministry is undertaking to improve Delhi’s air quality, which nose-dived in the recent past, prompting the courts to ask for a time-bound action plan from the governments.

In April, the minister stated rules on construction and demolition waste would be out within 10 days. Now, Javadekar said compilation of public comments on the draft rules was over and the final notification would be out in December.

The thrust of the upcoming rule would be to partition every big construction site, following the example of the Delhi Metro, which minimised dust flow to the atmosphere from its construction sites. The rules are expected to lower air pollution in Delhi and neighbouring areas where construction activities are in full swing.

Javadekar said following consultation with the environment ministry, stubble burning was reduced by 25 per cent in 2015 and would go down to 50 per cent next year. In three years time, he wished for an end to the practice of burning crop residues in nearby agriculture fields.

Serious problem
Union Minister for Environment has termed the situation in capital as “serious,” reports PTI from New Delhi.

He said steps have been taken to improve air pollution levels in the capital, and support has been sought from various agencies and governments, besides public, in winning the war against pollution.

“As far as Delhi’s air pollution is concerned, we recognise that the situation is serious. But as we all know that air pollution is a global problem in many cities world over and in Delhi, air quality is going from bad to worse for last 10 years,” Javadekar said.

He said though “we have got it in inheritance, we are dealing with it”.

“With people’s participation, we can win the war against pollution. Because, I believe fresh air is birth right of every citizen and they must get it and we are duty-bound to do that in a time-bound manner,” he said.

“We have taken all agencies together, have prepared one year plan and we have been reviewing every three months.”

“But after all this is done, still people’s participation is the key.” he said.