HSPCB fines only 36 construction sites in three years
Only 36 construction sites have been penalized by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) in the past three years for violating pollution norms laid down by the Union environment ministry, an RTI response has revealed. There are more than 1,000 big construction sites in and around the city. In April 2015, the NGT gave strict instructions to civic authorities (MCG in the city) and monitoring agencies (HSPCB) to check dust pollution caused by construction sites. The NGT had instructed authorities to impose a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh on builders violating the 2010 construction guidelines. However, according to the RTI response (a copy of which is with TOI), 36 construction sites — at Daulatabad, Dwarka Expressway, Golf Course Extension Road, Golf Course Road, Sohna road, Gurugram-Faridabad road, NH-8 and UdyogVihar — were fined in the past three years by HSPCB. A fine of about Rs 3.5 crore has been collected by the board between March 2016 and September 2018, the response says. An official of HSPCB said, “We can only take action against big construction sites. Civic bodies have to ensure that small construction sites follow all norms.”
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