CAQM directs MCG to prosecute official for failing to implement dust mitigation measures

The CAQM has directed the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram to prosecute an executive engineer and other officials for allegedly failing to ensure implementation of dust mitigation measures at various levels, sources said on Friday.

The development comes after the MCG, in a letter dated October 30 to the Urban Local Bodies Department, Haryana, recommended disciplinary action against Executive Engineer Surender Sheoran for allegedly mismanaging mechanised road-sweeping machines, and ensuring effective dust-managing operations.

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Sheoran and others will be prosecuted in front of a jurisdictional judicial magistrate under Section 14 (2) of the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021.

The section states, "The offence under this Act shall be non-cognizable and triable by the Jurisdictional Judicial Magistrate of the First Class, who shall not take cognisance of the offence except upon a complaint made by the Commission or any officer authorised by the Commission in this behalf."

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The failure to implement dust mitigation measures first came to light in December last year during a CAQM inspection of 125 road stretches under MCG jurisdiction. Sources said that the examination found 34 stretches with high visible dust, and 58 with moderate visible dust, according to sources.

In February this year, the CAQM conducted another inspection after receiving a complaint regarding accumulation of dust and municipal solid waste in Gurugram's sectors 49, 50, 70, 73, 74, and 75. The examination found heaps of loose soil and construction and demolition dust lying unattended alongside road stretches.

Then, in October, to further ascertain dust mitigation measures, CAQM carried out examinations of 52 road stretches and found more than 250 instances of violations, including high visible dust on roads. Out of this, 174 violations were found on the road stretches under MCG jurisdiction.

According to sources, after the MCG commissioner appeared in front of the CAQM on November 3 regarding the issue, it was decided to hold Sheoran and other officials accountable for the above-mentioned violations.