Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) has floated tenders to purchase 40 PM10 analysers to be installed at its active mines in Dhanbad as part of concerted efforts to improve the air quality in coal town along with Dhanbad Municipal Corporation (DMC), Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB).
The last date of the submission of bids is April 7. The development comes ahead of a meeting on National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) scheduled in Ranchi on March 18-19 to take stock of the activities being carried out to curb pollution in Dhanbad.
Union minister of environment, forest and climate change Prakash Javadekar is likely to be present at the meeting.
Under NCAP, Dhanbad has been selected as one of 102 cities/towns where pollution level has to be brought down by 35 per cent within three years.
DMC is planning to meet the stakeholders’ before the Ranchi meeting. “The upcoming meeting in Ranchi will be crucial for the implementation of Dhanbad action plan prepared by JSPCB last year. According to the plan, short-, mid- and long-term measure and some continuous steps are to be taken to control pollution,” Dhanbad JSPCB member Rajiv Sharma said.
He said the Dhanbad action plan suggested ways to control pollution caused by vehicle and industrial emissions, road dust, construction and demolition activities and burning of biomasss and garbage.
“Better monitoring of the ambient air quality and generating public awareness besides controlling the pollution caused by BCCL collieries are some of the continuous measures that need to be taken,” Sharma added.
Additional municipal commissioner of Dhanbad Rajesh Singh said they were assessing the viability of buying mechanical dust sweepers against outsourcing the job to a private agency. “A decision in this regard will be taken soon. We will also a hold meeting with the forest department officials on planting of trees,” Singh said.
DMC is planning to set up two continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations through the funds sanctioned by JSPCB. JSPCB has released Rs 3 crore to DMC as part of its Rs 10-crore grant to improve the quality of air in Katras, Baghmara and Sindri besides Jharia and Dhanbad.
