GRAP IV restrictions go up in smoke, Gurgaon chokes on dust as building sites flout norms

Gurgaon: The immediate vicinity of construction sites has turned into dust bowls. Air in several sectors in the city is making residents gasp for breath at a time when restrictions under stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) have been imposed across Delhi-NCR due to high pollution levels.

A permanent haze shrouds the city's major areas, as it sees heavy construction activities throughout the day and night.

Shuttering the construction area with green sheets, sprinkling water and covering vehicles carrying construction and demolition (C&D) waste — most construction sites operating despite the ban in Gurgaon do not follow these basic guidelines of the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change.


Barring a few big construction sites, most of the city is still carrying out construction work. Several small-scale construction activities are in full swing across the city.

The authorities claimed they are taking measures to mitigate air pollution, but reality is different. A visit by TOI to major construction sites in the city on Sunday — including Sector 23, Sector 18, Sushant Lok 1, Iffco Chowk, MG Road, Sector 28, Sector 27 and DLF Phase 1 — revealed a clear picture.

Everything was covered with a fine layer of dust: the buildings, the trees, the vehicles and even the workers. None of the workers were seen wearing a dust mask.

On Sunday, the AQI was recorded at 291 (poor). NISE Gwal Pahari recorded a severe AQI of 400, while Teri Gram logged 337, both continuing to remain in the ‘very poor' to ‘severe' range. Vikas Sadan reported an AQI of 293, whereas Sector 51 showed relatively better air at 134, the only station in the ‘moderate' category.

Sushil Yadav, a resident of Sushant Lok 1, said, "The entire lane is covered in dust no matter what season of the year passes by. Nobody cares about the health of residents. The civic bodies do not visit the sectors to check if the construction activities are going on or have stopped in view of the GRAP orders."

Under GRAP 4, strict vigilance by the civic authorities is required, as well as no tolerance for visible emissions, which should prevent the plying of visibly polluting vehicles by impounding or heavy fines. The authorities should also enforce rules for dust control at construction sites and shut down those that are non-compliant.

Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) should periodically review compliance with the dust mitigation measures at C&D sites. Though the norms are very clear, most of the sites that TOI visited were found transporting construction material in trucks without adequate covering.

The truck wheels were not washed, thus carrying dust outside of the premises.

C&D waste was seen dumped along the roadsides and grinding of stones was being carried out in the open.

An HSPCB officer (Gurgaon) said, "We have taken action against sites which are more than 20,000 sq metres in area. Smaller sites are under the jurisdiction of MCG. The civic agencies have been asked to sprinkle water on roads to mitigate road dust."

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