Delhi govt deploys Environment Marshalls to combat pollution

Environment Minister, Imran Hussain on December 27 announced that Delhi government has deployed Environment Marshalls in various parts of the capital to control illegal burning in open, dust emanating from various sources and improper management of dhalaos, contributing to air pollution.

Home Guard (HG) volunteers as Environmental Marshals will be deployed by the environment department. Fourteen Home Guards have already been deployed in seven wards of three municipal corporations - covering three wards of East Delhi Municipal Corporation and two wards each of South Delhi Municipal Corporation and North Delhi Municipal Corporation.

The wards covered so far are AnandVihar, I.P. Extension, Jhilmil, Daryaganj, Okhla, Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar-Samaypur Badli and Shahbad Daulatpur-PoothKhurd. Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has also been developed for the working of the scheme.

In the coming days, the Department of Environment plans to increase the number of Marshalls to 100 who will be deployed in 50 wards of MCD.

For better performance of duties by these Home Guards, a training programme was also organized on 19/12/17 at the Delhi Secretariat. The incumbents have been given basic inputs about their functioning under the scheme.

They have been instructed to act as eyes and ears of the Environment Department/Delhi Pollution Control Committee and report the following instances of violations of following nature in their respective wards:-

I. Burning of leaves/garbage/plastic in open.

II. Pollution due to the dumping of construction material in open without covering.

III. Dust pollution caused due to construction activity without taking adequate pollution control measures such as covers/ sprinkling of water on material stored,

IV. Pollution caused due to spillage of solid waste at dhalaos of MCD

Shri Hussain said his Department and Delhi government are committed to curbing air pollution in the national capital. He also appealed to the people of Delhi to lend their hand in controlling air pollution.

OneIndia News