Just hours after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced his government’s punitive measures to tackle air pollution, the Public Works Department (PWD) and other civic agencies started sprinkling water on the streets to control dust pollution. Since dust is a big contributor to air pollution, the idea is to settle the dust by sprinkling water on the roads and central verges.The exercise was carried out at CR Park on the Outer Ring Road, Chhawla road, Mathura road, Tughlaq road, Jagatpuri road and Najafgarh road. Among the 11 measures put forth by PWD Minister Satyendar Jain to curb air pollution, one also involves planting trees on the central verges of the roads. “Bald patches on green spaces on the central verges and footpath are unable to hold top soil, which contributes to air pollution. Therefore, there is immediate need to improve green cover.”
Withered plants
In 2010, before the Common Wealth Games (CWG), around 20 lakh plants were potted on the central verges as a part of a beautification plan. Six years down the line, many of these plants have either withered away or on the verge of it. The PWD has 1,250km of roads under its jurisdiction while the three civic bodies have 23,931km of roads, many of which don’t have central verges. PWD officials admitted that the plants on the central verges are not being maintained well. “This is due to Delhi Metro construction and road-widening projects. But the main cause of damage is trespassing. People step on the plants,” said an official of the PWD’s Horticulture Department. Each year, the PWD allocates Rs.4 crore for the maintenance of such plants while the three civic bodies together earmark Rs.3 crore.The quality and availability of water is a problem too.“We use water from the Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP). It harms the plants but then there is shortage of water for people. We can’t complain,” said another PWD official.
Civic sense
Another problem is pilferage. During CWG, ornamental plants were potted on several stretches. A PWD engineer said that they caught ‘educated people living in planned colonies’ stealing the plants.“Under the Safdarjung flyover, a lawyer was caught stealing the plants. He was taking away three small trees,” said the official.Meanwhile, the civic bodies have blamed the Delhi government for the situation and said that all the main roads are with the PWD and most of the central verges are with them.“There is no dust on our roads. Even the few central verges we have, they are maintained well,” said V. P. Pandey, Leader of the House of the North Corporation. The civic bodies have started implementing government orders. Bald patches on green spaces on the central verges and footpath are unable to hold top soil, which contributes to air pollution. Therefore, there is immediate need to improve green cover.
Source: The Hindu, 9 Nov 2016