Lok Sabha Question No. 241 (STARRED), answered on 2018-08-03
Subject: Dust Pollution
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: RAM CHARITRA, K. MARAGATHAM

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *241

TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.08.2018

## Dust Pollution

## *241.   SHRI RAM CHARITRA NISHAD: SHRIMATI K. MARAGATHAM:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken or proposes to take a host of measures including the launching of three pilot projects to tackle bad air/dust pollution in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  National  Environmental  Engineering  Research  Institute  has  run  any  pilot project for installing equipment to suck in particulate matter and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government is also working on remediation of landfills and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether  it  is  true  that  the  remediation  process  involves  removing  of  garbage  from landfills, stabilizing the slopes and covering these with permanent green areas and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

- (a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## Statement referred to in reply to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 241 due for reply  on  03.08.2018  regarding  'Dust  Pollution'  by  SHRI  RAM  CHARITRA NISHAD  &  SHRIMATI  K.  MARAGATHAM,  Hon'ble  Members  of  Lok Sabha

- (a) The Government has taken several steps to address air pollution which inter alia, include notification of National Ambient Air Quality Standards; setting up of monitoring network for assessment of ambient air quality; introduction of cleaner / alternate fuels like gaseous fuel  (CNG,  LPG  etc.),  ethanol  blending,  launching  of  National  Air  Quality  index; universalization of BS-IV from 2017; leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI fuel standards by  1st  April,  2020;  notification  of  Construction  and  Demolition  Waste  Management Rules; banning of burning of biomass; promotion of public transport network; streamlining the issuance of Pollution Under Control Certificate; issuance of directions under Section 18(1)(b) of Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and under Section  5  of  Environment  (Protection)  Act,  1986;  installation  of  on-line  continuous (24x7) monitoring devices by major industries; etc.

Further,  two  pilot  projects  namely  'To  demonstrate  the  effectiveness  of  air pollution mitigation by Pariyayantra filtration' to ManavRachna  Innovation and Incubation  Centre  to  install  Pariyayantra  filtration  on  the  roof  top  of  30  buses  and 'Deployment  and  Evaluation  of  air  purification  units  (for  traffic  junction  pollution abatement) in Delhi' to National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to  install  Wind  Augmentation  and  Air  Purifying  Unit  (WAYU)  devices  at  7  traffic intersections have been sanctioned to tackle dust pollution.

- (b) NEERI  in  collaboration  with  Maharashtra  Pollution  Control  Board  (MPCB)  and  IIT Bombay has run a pilot project of Wind Augmentation and Air Purifying Unit (WAYU) at four traffic junctions with 25 WAYU devices in Mumbai to capture Particulate Matter.
- (c) The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India  has  been  implementing  the  World  Bank-aided  Capacity  Building  for  Industrial Pollution Management Project (CBIPMP) from October, 2010 to March, 2018 with the objectives to build tangible human and technical capacity in selected state agencies for undertaking  environmentally  sound  remediation  of  polluted  sites  and  to  support  the development of National Programme for Remediation of Polluted Sites. The project has supported  two  state  pilot  projects  namely,  the  Closure  and  Containment  of  Municipal Solid  Waste (MSW) site at Ukkayapalli, Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh and the Closure and Containment  of  MSW  site  at  Dhapa,  West  Bengal.  The  implementing  agency  for  the Kadapa site is Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) and for the Dhapa site is West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB).
- (d) The  remediation  process  involves  a  number  of  activities  which  inter-alia  include  site preparation  and  excavation  and  handling  of  wastes  including  sorting  and  segregation, storage  of  segregated  fraction  and  reuse  /  disposal  back  to  dumpsite  closure  layers; profiling / reshaping of waste dump site; stabilization of critical slopes; final cover layers over reshaped dumpsite, etc.

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