DDA report says no cases of open burning of garbage and leaves, Delhi govt to check claim

The authority, however, did not conduct any inspection between October 20 and November 17.

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“Considering Nil (0) report of DDA with regard to prohibition on burning of leaves, garbage, etc against the violations observed by Revenue Department, Special Secretary (Environment) directed SDM, Department of Revenue to cull out the complaints/violations observed in areas under the jurisdiction of DDA to counter-check the report submitted by DDA officials,” the minutes of the review meeting called by the environment minister on Monday said.

The authority has issued only two fines for dust pollution in the year so far.

When contacted, the DDA spokesperson refused to comment on either the report or the government’s decision.

The Indian Express had, earlier this month, reported how several government agencies, including the government’s revenue department, had issued a paltry number of fines for dust pollution and open burning to control air pollution.

Some of the agencies have picked up since then.

The revenue department issued 196 fines between October 26 and November 18 for dust pollution as opposed to 40 fines between August and October. The East Delhi Municipal Corporation issued 441 fines for dust pollution and 166 fines for open burning between October 25 and November 17.

The Public Works Department, which had not issued a single fine till October, has issued 129 in the 23 days since.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research forecast, air quality, along with the temperature, is expected to dip on Tuesday and Wednesday. Delhi’s air has been in the ‘very poor’ category for the last 10 days, a slight improvement from the ‘severe’ category that persisted since the end of October.