Knowledge dissemination and active support for implementation hold key for the action plan

Dhanbad, 22 March, 2022: Centre for Environment and Energy Development (CEED) and Dhanbad Municipal Corporation (DMC) in association with Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) jointly organised a conference today to augment the collaborative effort to achieve clean air in the city. The key objective of this event was to initiate a constructive dialogue between government & non-government stockholders on effective implementation of Clean Air Action Plan and further solicit their support to the implementing agencies for ensuring clean air in the city. The conference witnessed the participation of enforcement agencies and aligned departments such as Department of Transport, Mines, Urban Development and JSPCB as well as representatives from research think-tanks, academia and prominent civil society organisations.

Dhanbad is one of the non-attainment cities identified under the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) and as per the mandates, a Clean Air Action Plan for the city was prepared by the State Government and JSPCB in 2019 as a primary mitigation measure, followed by a micro-level plan in 2021. As the city is rolling out implementation steps, it is critical to build capacity and awareness amongst all stakeholders on sector-wise and department-wise strategies and regulatory actions. It is crucial to facilitate the exchange of best practices and solutions for strengthening the implementation of the plan.

Addressing the conference, Mr Satyendra Kumar, Municipal Commissioner of Dhanbad Municipal Corporation said that, “The State government has already prioritised reducing air pollution as an important public issue and we are taking a pro-active approach in adopting innovative cleaner and green solutions and promoting the good samaritans to bring localised support at the forefront. A multi-stakeholder approach is key to generate much required momentum to provide hand-holding support to the enforcement agencies in deploying solution oriented measures effectively.”

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Ankita Jyoti, Senior Program Officer at CEED said, “We really appreciate the State government and aligned agencies for taking a formidable initiative in bringing out the action plans, however an impact oriented implementation mechanism and deepening public awareness remains a big challenge. Also, adopting an integrated clean airshed management with an inclusive approach through involving civil society and citizens in implementation measures are needed in the state.”

Identifying localised sources of air pollution, Dr Suresh Pandian Elumalai, Associate Professor at Dept. of Environmental Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM)-Dhanbad said that various studies suggest that industries, resuspension of road dust and vehicular pollution are primary sources of pollution in Dhanbad, where solution oriented measures are urgently required. For cleaning the air, a strong regulatory regime and stringent enforcement is crucial for controlling pollution.”

Highlighting the importance of data transparency and adopting technological solutions, a member of Clean Air Implementation Network (CAIN-Dhanbad) Mr Shankar Rawani (Jharkhand Gramin Vikas Trust) urged the State government that transparency and accountability should be increased by involving all the stakeholders. There should be the establishment of a single window mechanism like a “Clean Air Action Plan Compliance Portal” where all information related to the action plan can be made available to the public since inclusion of civil society participation in the implementation process will be very helpful.

The conference highlighted that the proper dissemination of mitigation measures is an essential feature for generating comprehensive impact, therefore the solution based actions must be mainstreamed into the public debate. It also brought several recommendations such as identification of pollution hotspots and localised solutions of pilferages, public education strategies on higher pollution days, undertaking health impact study, and creating user friendly apps to address citizen grievances. Since implementation of the action plan is crucial, Clean Air Implementation Network (CAIN), an initiative of CEED which is a network of like minded CSOs and citizen groups, is putting consistent effort to bring all stakeholders on a common platform to provide active support to the government initiatives in the city.

For further details, please contact:

Naveen Mishra, CEED, Ph: 9910702114; Email: naveen@ceedindia.org