NGT forms panel to verify claim of air pollution around AIIMS Delhi

The National Green Tribunal has formed a panel to verify the allegations of severe air pollution in and around the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here.

The NGT was hearing a plea which claimed that air pollution was jeopardising the health of the indoor as well as OPD patients, doctors and other staffers of AIIMS-Delhi.

The petition claimed statutory and administrative authorities failed to control air pollution around AIIMS.

"We are satisfied that the matter needs consideration and facts need to be verified by an independent expert committee... Accordingly, we constitute a seven-member joint committee to be headed by the member secretary, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), deputy commissioner of police (Traffic), area divisional or district forest officer (DFO) and the municipal corporation of Delhi (MCD)," a bench comprising NGT chairperson Justice A K Goel said.

The bench, also comprising judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member A Senthil Vel, said other members of the committee would be the Delhi pollution control committee (DPCC), the AIIMS director or his nominee and a nominee of the Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital.

"The committee may consider the allegations noted, including traffic or parking status and deliberate upon plan for mitigation measures to control air pollution in the area such as regulation of traffic, shifting to battery-operated vehicles in specified areas, no vehicle zones, removal of encroachments and hawkers, dense plantations, noise and dust control measures at strategic locations, and water sprinkling," the bench said.

The green panel said the member secretary of DPCC and the AIIMS director or his nominee will jointly be the nodal agency for coordination and compliance.

"The committee may make its recommendations to remedy the situation. It may furnish its report to this tribunal within one month," the NGT said.

The matter has been posted for further proceedings on April 28.