Road cleaning, waste collection agencies fined over air pollution in Noida

The Noida Authority said it issued penalties worth Rs 5.65 lakh on private contractors and other entities that were found violating guidelines and rules to combat air pollution here

The Noida Authority on Monday said it issued penalties worth Rs 5.65 lakh on private contractors and other entities that were found violating guidelines and rules to combat air pollution here.

The maximum penalty of Rs 1 lakh was slapped on private contractors handling mechanical cleaning of roads and door-to-door garbage collection, the Authority said, as it took action in the wake of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) coming into force amid deteriorating air quality in Delhi-NCR.

Private firms Chennai MSW which handles mechanical cleaning of roads was slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh for not following guidelines, while an equal amount of penalty was issued to AG Enviro, which handles door-to-door collection of waste in Noida, for not collecting waste from dustbins, the Authority said in a statement.

There were incidents of construction where anti-air pollution guidelines were not followed and these were issued penalties totalling Rs 1 lakh, it stated.

Varying amounts of penalties were slapped on multiple entities which were found violating guidelines of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and GRAP, the Authority said, adding altogether it issued fines worth Rs 5.65 lakh on Monday.

The Authority said 100 tonnes of construction and demolition waste was picked up from various locations in Noida on Monday and sent to the processing plant in Sector 80.

Road stretches measuring 96 kilometres were sprinkled with water, while another 240 kilometres on 50 routes were cleaned mechanically, it said. Footpaths and streets measuring 50 kilometres were cleaned during the night using water treated by sewage treatment plants, it stated.

The Noida Authority had on Saturday issued fines of Rs 11.15 lakh and Rs 3,37,500 on Sunday on various private contractors and entities for violating pollution guidelines and rules here.

On Monday, the air quality index in parts of Noida remained in the poor category, according to government agencies.