Dr. Abhijit Chaudhari, the Municipal Commissioner, emphasized the necessity for inter-governmental coordination to alleviate air pollution in Nagpur during a review meeting held at the NMC office in Civil Lines on Friday.
“Active coordination between different Government organisations is needed to reduce the impact of air pollution in Nagpur,” said Dr Abhijit Chaudhari.
In the meeting, Ravindra Bhelawe, Deputy Commissioner; Manoj Talewar, Superintending Engineer; Dr Shweta Banerjee, Superintending Engineer; Jayesh Bhandarkar, ACP (Traffic); Ravindra Pagey, Administrative Officer, Transport Department; Dr Sangeeta Goyal, Principal Scientist, CSIR-NEERI; Alpana Patne, Executive Engineer; Sandeep Lokhande; Rajendra Patil, MPCB; and Dr Sandeep Narnaore, MPCB were present in the meeting.
In efforts to enhance air quality, NMC has initiated several city projects, with many nearing completion. To take stock of all the work, Dr Chaudhari conducted the review meeting with concerned departments. The civic body has recently introduced 144 e-busses in the city and already 60 such e-buses are running on city roads.
The NMC has set up three charging stations and bus depots for these e-buses in the Wadi, Hingna, and Lakadganj areas. Additionally, work on the fourth depot and charging station in Wathoda is in progress and will soon be completed, as reported by the NMC transport department representative to the Municipal Commissioner.
The NMC is actively creating green patches within the city, and one green patch has already been established at Bharat Mata Garden. Furthermore, the civic body has undertaken tree planting and maintenance initiatives at the RTM Nagpur University campus. Road leveling and pothole filling efforts are also underway across various areas of the city.
To transform city crematoriums into pollution-free areas, the civic body has commenced development projects in several crematoriums across the city. NMC has installed air pollution control equipment at Gangabai Ghat, Mokshadham, and Manewada Ghat, located within residential areas. Additionally, new ghats are under construction at Chinchbhuvan, Jaitala, and Friends Colony, as stated by officials during the meeting.
To reduce air pollution in the city, NMC is collaborating with CSIR NEERI and implementing innovative technologies developed by this national institution.