PUNE: The civic body will resume issuing showcause notices to the construction sites causing air pollution, almost a year after its first attempt to clean up teh city.
According to the municipal corporation officials, pollution levels increased in the city because of civil works across the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) areas. The civic administration has instructed the contractors to adhere to norms and safety guidelines, including the use of green nets and large iron sheets, to prevent pollution. Sites not following these norms would be fined, and showcause notices would be issued beforehand.
“The administration issued instructions after authorities like the state pollution board raised concerns about air pollution. The monitoring is being done across the civic areas to check the sites not complying with them,” said Rajendra Bhosale, the commissioner and the administrator of PMC.
Apart from the norms in the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR), PMC came out with new directives on the lines of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Guarding the construction sites with tin sheets was made mandatory for developers and contractors.
Projects like flyovers, bridges, roads and public transport facilities under way add to the pollution in Sinhagad Road, Kothrud, Bavdhan, Baner, Pashan, Aundh, NIBM Road, Kondhwa, Solapur Road and Satara Road areas. Residents observed that special measures were needed to curb this pollution and the administration must ensure strict compliance with the norms.
“The dust particles not only cause hassles to the residents of the areas concerned, but also to the commuters. The problem of pollution exists because of heavy traffic. Construction works without proper safety precautions are aggravating the situation,” said Samir Paranjape, a resident of the Sinhagad Road area.
Another civic official said the administration had taken an identical action in 2023. It served notices to 124 developers.
Credai Pune chapter issued a statement stating that it had urged its members to follow the norms and advised its members to install sprinklers at construction sites to bring down the pollution. Guidelines were also issued to put up a minimum of 14 feet high GI/metal sheets and six feet high green cloth on them around the periphery of the project construction sites.
A senior official of PMC said squads would be constituted this time to monitor the movement of trucks ferrying gravel, soil and crushed stones to construction sites from building material suppliers. They will also keep a watch on cement spillages from mixers to reduce pollution.
