A step to reduce pollution in the country, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said that his ministry was coming up with the rules for implementation of construction and demolition waste control so as to control dust.
Minister stated that strict implementation of pollution and emission laws with harsh punishment and penalties to the defaulters are the prerequisite for ambient air quality.
The minister was expressed his views in a meeting of the 15th Finance Commission on issues relating to air quality of urban areas.
The objective of the meeting was to discuss the status of the implementation of the Finance Commission recommendations for 2020-21 for administering the grants to improve air quality in million-plus cities.
The Finance Commission, in its report for the Financial Year 2020-2021, had recommended grants of Rs 4,400 crore for 2020-21 to improve the ambient air quality in fifty million plus cities and Urban Agglomerations (UAs).
The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Challenge has been entrusted with the responsibility to facilitate the desired outcomes through these urban local bodies. The report was the first time that any Commission has given attention to air quality as a major focus.
It was further apprised that the problem of air quality is mostly not a localised phenomenon and is influenced by many factors beyond the control of a particular region; therefore the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is now focusing on air-shed management approach.
The Minister also informed the Commission that his Ministry was coming up with the rules for implementation of construction and demolition waste control so as to control dust.
As regards ease of doing business, the ministry is coming up with an amendment to the notification of environment impact assessment.
He also mentioned the various reforms implemented in the coal washeries that brought down the pollution by several fold and many other steps have been initiated by the ministry as part of ease of doing business at national and international level.
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