New Delhi: The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has formulated a five-year plan, ??515 crore pollution mitigation plan which includes the relaying of unpaved roads in areas such as the Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, a freight hub, and the purchase of more mechanical sweepers – measures which mainly target reduce dust pollution in areas managed by the civic body.

Last month, a study of the air quality at 39 monitoring stations in the capital by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) showed that the top six areas with the worst air quality between 1 and 8 November came under the civic organization of the North. Overall, 16 of the 39 zones fell under the MCD North.

The northern civic body maintains the largest geographic area of ​​the city (604.54 km² out of 1,484 km²) among the three municipal bodies.

A senior civic body official who is aware of the plan said the company plans to purchase equipment such as sweepers, anti-smog guns and road repair machines worth $ 25, 44 crores of rupees.

The official explained that the project funds will be managed through the urban development fund (which is donated by the central government) and the money received under the national air quality action plan. . “We have assessed our needs in terms of area to be covered and we will need more sweepers, anti-smog guns and road repair machines,” said a second official who oversees anti-pollution campaigns.

The official said North MCD plans to procure six mechanical sweepers, 12 truck-mounted anti-smog guns, 6 CNG truck-mounted anti-smog guns and an automatic road patch repair machine. The North Company currently operates a fleet of 18 power sweepers and 128 watering tanker trucks.

Dust remains one of the main components of pollution in Delhi. A study by IIT Kanpur showed that dust from roads, excavation and agriculture represent the highest sources of airborne particles in Delhi, contributing 38% of PM2.5 and 56% of PM10 in Delhi. Delhi. It is estimated that over 131 tons of dust are generated in Delhi every day, with construction sites, loose soil, road dust and poorly maintained roads being among the major contributing factors.

The mitigation plan, a copy of which was seen by HT, incorporates the need to upgrade and maintain 15 decentralized waste management facilities and existing machinery / equipment over the next five years.

Some of the areas most prone to dust pollution include Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar Phase-2, Kailash Park, Manohar Park, Moti Nagar, Kirti Nagar, Ram Nagar and several unpaved stretches of the Narela area, said. municipal officials.

Close to Sanjay Gandhi Nagar transport, Alipur has become a new hotspot of pollution, the chief official explained.

“As part of phase 2 of the project, ??A 58.5 crore overhaul of the Sanjay Gandhi Nagar transport has been proposed. Blocks A, B, C and phase 1 are covered in the current phase for which funds have been received from the central urban development fund and work orders worth ??50.33 crore was recently issued, ”the official added.

Chhail Bihari Goswami, the head of the Northern MCD household, made no comment.