Five dust-sweeping machines, bought at a cost of Rs 2.25 cr to curb air pollution in Dhanbad, are lying unused since the imposition of the lockdown, but that’s not stopping the local corporation from making preparations to buy more such machines with a fund od Rs 10 cr that is now at its disposal, courtesy Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board.

The five machines were put to use partially between June 15 to July 15. But after that these haven’t been used. One reason for that is that roads are wet and muddy during the monsoon. But the other reason is that Dhanbad Municipal Corporation (DMC) doesn’t have the required funds to maintain the machines and buy fuel to run them.

Manoj Singh, a Jharia-based environmentalist, said, “We understand that Covid control is of utmost priority for the government. But in a district where Jharia and Dhanbad towns have been declared most polluted, steps to ensure cleaner air are equally important. A large number of people in Jharia and Dhanbad suffer from breathing disorders like bronchitis and asthma.”

The five mechanised dust sweeping machines _ three large ones mounted on trucks and two smaller ones mounted on vans _ were bought in June last year from Roots Multiclean, a supplier of cleaning products. They were deployed after finalisation of a route chart during November last year. But less than five month later, their use was stopped due to the imposition of a national lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Sources in DMC revealed that there was talk now to buy more dust sweeping machines by using a fund of Rs 10 crore provided by Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board in March under the National Clean Air programme meant for the 102 cities/towns that have failed to attain clean air goals.

Madhurendra Singh, an activist and former president of Bartand Chamber of Commerce, said, “Not using the mechanised dust sweeping machines on the pretext of a funds crunch is nothing but a sheer wastage of public money due to inadequate planning.

“A large number of vehicles, including dust sweeping machines, tractors, small tippers and garbage vans, procured during 2012 as per DMC’s solid waste management project, are lying unused since 2014 due to a legal dispute. Now, the dust sweeping machines, procured only last year, will soon become useless,” said Singh

Huban Mallick, director of Pay and Clean, the agency looking after the operation and maintenance of the vehicles, blamed the problem on the DMC’s funds crunch. “But we have been assured by the district administration that it is keen on relaunching the services of mechanised dust sweeping machines,” he claimed.

Uday Kachhap, DMC assistant engineer in charge of transport, said, “The mechanised dust sweepers have been non-functional since the imposition of the lockdown. We will take a decision in this regard very soon.”