New Delhi: Councillors across parties Tuesday questioned Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) moves to tackle pollution , raising concerns over construction activities, crematoriums and waste management in the city.
He said MCD should also assess the requirement for sanitation staff, vehicles for lifting garbage, etc., in 48 villages being urbanised. Data shows hardly 10-20% people adhere to the norms to check pollution arising out of construction and garbage burning, he alleged, adding that only four licensing officers are there to check such violations for 35 wards in Shahdara North zone. “MCD will procure 70 mechanical road sweepers. A proposal to procure 1,000 vacuum-based, battery-operated litter picker machines was also approved at the meeting,” she said.
During a house meeting, BJP councillors said the civic body needed to take action against construction and building material shops that allegedly operate without adequate checks or penalties. The Congress councillor from Kirari said only five tippers served the entire ward, but not regularly. Senior BJP councillor Mukesh Goyal said open burning, including of green waste, was common in parks. BJP councillor from Jhilmil Pankaj Luthra said people were hardly afraid of challans issued as per NGT norms or made payment. Deputy mayor Monika Pant said all issues would be addressed in a time-bound manner.
Merely issuing challans to construction sites will not address the recurring problem, they emphasised. Rajpal Singh, BJP councillor from Sriniwaspuri, demanded that the use of wood at crematoriums be stopped to help reduce air pollution and cleaner alternatives be promoted as has been done at four crematoriums. Congress and BJP councillors from various zones, including Civil Lines and Rohini, alleged that contractors were lifting garbage after two to three days.