The Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, or EPCA, has decided to write to the Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments asking them to hasten the process of installing air quality monitoring stations, the Hindustan Times reported on Sunday.
“We want three things – the stations you have committed should be installed, should be connected to the Central Pollution Control Board network, and should function properly,” EPCA member Sunita Narain said earlier this week. “We are tired of chasing you month after month.”
Three stations have been installed in Haryana’s Gurgaon, Faridabad and Rohtak. As many as 13 more stations are yet to be installed, and the second deadline for their installation – February 2018 – has expired. In Uttar Pradesh, two stations are functioning – in Noida and Ghaziabad. Another 10 are expected to come up. In Delhi, 24 stations have been installed and are operational, but 20 of them are yet to be connected with the Central Pollution Control Board website.
The board’s common Air Quality Index will accurately reflect pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region after these stations are installed, the Hindustan Times said.
EPCA Chairperson Bhure Lal said he would write a letter to the chief secretaries of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. “I will also call a meeting of the chief secretaries,” he said. “We need those stations up and running. The deadline given to you was end of February, where are these stations now?”
The Hindustan Times quoted unidentified Haryana officials at the EPCA meeting as saying that the remaining stations would be ready in two months. Uttar Pradesh officials said five of the 10 remaining stations could be installed by March 31.
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