“Construction sites today should pay utmost attention to mitigate dust and noise pollution”

John Guest,  President -Construction  of Piramal Realty talks exclusively to Realty Plus about the need for construction sites to pay utmost attention to mitigate dust and noise pollution. To some extent, dust generation is inevitable due to the kind of activities that take place on the site. It is the responsibility of both the contractor and the developer to employ effective measures to minimise dust generation. Dust createsan adverse impact on human health and the environment. Hence, today, leading developers are taking careful measures to ensure that the workers are safe and healthyand adjoining surroundingsare protected andenvironmental impact isminimised due to construction activities. We, at Piramal Realty, employ various preventive measuresacross all our projectsto ensure highest standards of safety and environmental compliance are met. For instance, at Piramal Aranya site,our signature development spread across 7 acres in Byculla, the aggregate feeder, silos and conveyor belts of the batching plant are covered to prevent dust from escaping. Sedimentation and washing tanks have also been installed at the batching plant to help minimize dust arising from the site. One of the largest generator of dust is movement of vehicles. To address this, we have wheel washing facilities at the site. Additionally, controlling traffic in and around the site and continuous spraying through water sprinklers- all go a long way to keep dust level at minimum. An industrial vacuum cleaner is yet another recommended way to maintain a dust controlled surrounding. Dust collector for silos, path ways made of PCC etc. also helps in curbing dust arising from site. Limiting the exposed land, phasing out the work site, installing wind breaks to reduce the speed of wind, adding vegetation on site to avoid soil erosion,installing fencing / physical barriers at construction sites as per the existing norms,are some of the many measures that we have adopted at Piramal Realty construction sites to address pollution. Construction sites also generate noise adding to the environmental noise pollution. Therefore, in addition minimizing dust, it is paramount for any construction site to ensure minimum noise level at the vicinity. Installation of noise barriers and acoustic enclosure of construction equipment are some of the measures that have been adopted in order to curb noise pollution. At Piramal Aranya, we have installed a digital sound monitoring device to monitor the sound levels at the external boundaries of construction sites so that engineering control measures can be adopted in case of any deviation from the acceptable sound levels.Other steps taken, while seemingly simple and basic, have great effect in limiting noise such as strict speed limits for vehicles, unloading of materials carefully, restricting work to daytime etc.Another important step that can be taken is to carry out the Control of Substance Hazardous to Health (COSHH) assessment and take preventive measures as per the results. The above steps are extremely important so as to avoid any detrimental impact on the environment and also ensure that the workforce and surrounding residences and other stakeholders are healthy and safe. Effective implementation of these measures curbs the negative impact of the onsite activities on the immediate surroundings and workmen. Proper compliance to regulations and norms will thereby ensuresustainable development and protect the biodiversity of ecosystems. At Piramal Realty, we strongly believe in sustainable growth. Hence,we ensure that allactivities across all our construction sites meet the regulatory standards and cause no harm to the surrounding environment. For us, our employees and customers are our priority and their safety is our prime concern.