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The municipal corporations of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad have been receiving a growing number of complaints regarding combined exposure to dust and noise at construction sites. In many cases, stop work notices have also been issued to construction site owners after inspections showed inadequate measures had been taken to curb rising levels of air and noise pollution.
“We have noted a rise in the number of complaints related to excessive dust from construction sites, some of the industries, and Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) plants… PMC (Pune Municipal Corporation) and PCMC (Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation) are accordingly notified and actions are taken. On our part from January 2024 till January this year a total of 16 show cause notices have been issued against some in the industrial sector, RMC plants and construction sites for failing to comply with environment regulations – especially related to air pollution,” J S Salunkhe, Regional Officer, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), Pune told The Indian Express.
Directives for violations of Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESA) regulations typically include issuing warnings, levying fines, halting ongoing construction or activities within the ESA, initiating legal action, mandating environmental restoration, and conducting public awareness campaigns. “We have also issued 48 such directives last year,” Salunkhe said.
When contacted, Rajesh Bankar, superintendent engineer, PMC, said that recently they had issued stop-work notices to more than 200 construction site owners for the increasing dust pollution. “At least 45-50 have agreed to comply with the norms following which construction work was allowed,” Bankar told The Indian Express.
At the PCMC, too, authorities have received as many as 289 complaints related to poor air quality due to increasing dust pollution and 165 for excessive noise at construction sites. Sanjay Kulkarni, chief engineer, PCMC, said that they have taken action by serving stop-work notices to as many as 58 construction sites for dust pollution and 19 for causing noise pollution. The civic body has levied fines to the tune of an approximate Rs 7-8 lakh from the site owners.
“We get complaints from fringe areas like Moshi, Wakad and Punawale, among others,” Kulkarni said.
Inspections by PMC’s building permission department have shown blatant violations of norms like installing sprinklers, using GI sheets, and green nets around construction sites. Aundh, Baner, Hinjewadi-Phase 3, Katraj are among the various areas under PMC that have major construction sites.
Pune has been witnessing the redevelopments of old buildings and new project developments across the city. As per Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR) of Maharashtra, developers get incentives for constructing green buildings like 3 per cent, 5 per cent or 7 per cent additional Floor Space Index based on the rating achieved at pre-certification stage. Consumers, on the other hand, also stand to benefit financially through lower interest rates on home loans, tax rebates, and savings on electricity bills. “Moreover, proliferation of green buildings will reduce the environmental impact of the residential sector leading to a win-win for everybody,” Shweta Kulkarni, Fellow, Prayas Energy Group, said.
“Our visual perception suggested that most of these buildings are not using sustainable materials for construction and rarely did we spot a certified green building,” Kulkarni said, adding that they also surveyed about 40 residential projects showcased in the Pune property expo organised by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India in January this year. “About 10 per cent of the projects they assessed were Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) pre-certified at gold or platinum levels. The advertisement material for these projects only had the IGBC logo with no information on the green features planned,” she added. Only a couple of project brochures (out of the pre-certified ones) mentioned lighting system automation, roof insulation and use of certified green construction materials, as mere add-ons to the technical specifications.
