Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Monday conducted a surprise inspection of various construction sites under the state government’s anti-dust campaign on Monday, and directed concerned departments to impose fines. He inspected sites at RML hospital and Lady Hardinge Road, where he found alleged irregularities in dust control, and accordingly directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPPC) to impose fines of Rs 5 lakh on both the sites.

He said, “Under the anti-dust campaign, we inspected the construction site of the new block at RML Hospital today and found that the Civil Construction Company, responsible for the construction, is not strictly adhering to the 14 dust control rules. The DPCC has been instructed to issue a notice and impose a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the company,”.

The minister further said, “The Delhi government has started working on a 21-point winter action plan to control pollution during the winter months. The war room is now operational in Delhi, and the spraying of a bio-decomposer to break down stubble has begun. Additionally, an anti-dust campaign is being launched today to control dust at construction sites in Delhi,” he added.

After inspecting the sites, Rai stated, “Environmental rules are not being properly followed at the construction site,” and also said that the anti-smog guns were not functioning, while the soil was not covered and the workers engaged in construction were found without masks. “Due to these violations of dust control rules, the DPCC has been instructed to issue a penalty notice to the concerned agency. A financial penalty will be imposed daily if a satisfactory reply to the notice is not provided,” Rai added.

The minister has said that if the construction companies do not begin to strictly follow the 14 rules at the construction site, a daily challan will be issued against them.

He further informed that during the inspection at a construction site on Lady Hardinge Road, violations of the 14 dust control rules were found, and the DPCC has been directed to issue a notice and impose a fine of Rs 5 lakh.

Rai stated that 523 teams have been deployed to improve air quality in Delhi, and he also noted that 500 water sprinklers and 85 Mechanical Road Sweeping (MRS) machines have been deployed across the city to prevent dust pollution.