Faridabad: Despite ban on generators from October 1, preparedness ‘inadequate’

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, September 17

With the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) set to become effective in the NCR on October 1, the preparedness for its implementation appears inadequate in view of the ground situation prevailing on this front. The use of the gensets will be banned from October 1, according to the directions issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to check air pollution.

Daunting task

The implementation is still a challenging job as hundreds of units, including the industrial, commercial and residential ones, rely on gensets. Over half of city’s 25,000 industrial units were still dependent on the diesel generators for power back-up as they have no other option. An entrepreneur

Though diesel gensets in industrial, commercial and residential units had been banned in the past few years, the idea of phasing out gensets by replacing them with gas-operated power back-up systems had been now pushed by the department concerned, according to district officials.

“The implementation is a challenging job as hundreds of units, including the industrial, commercial and residential ones, rely on gensets. Over half of Faridabad’s 25,000 industrial units were still dependent on the generators for power back-up as they have no other option,” says an entrepreneur. He said the majority of these were prepared to comply with the directions, but the unavailability of gas supply in many parts had been a hurdle.

Admitting that conversion of the diesel sets was a cause for concern, Partosh Sharma of the Faridabad Industries Association (FIA) said the availability of gas and subsidy was crucial for such a move. “In the high-rise residential societies, there is hardly any move for the switchover in view of technical issues and costing,” says AK Gaur, a social activist, who claims that the conversion was not only a costly affair, but also required well-developed infrastructure.

The government should make the installation of PNG gensets mandatory while issuing licences to builders or societies, he adds. “Though we have received the instructions from the department, the society would be unable to bear the cost unless the government comes out with a subsidy or rebate plan,” says Ranmik Chahal, an office-bearer of the RWA of Princess Park Society, Sector 86.

The society has over 1,200 families at present. Jitender Bhalla, president, RWA, RPS Society, Sector 88, said since the society had not been handed over to the RWA, the issue needed to be dealt with by the builder.

“The Pollution Control Board has taken all measures to communicate the CAQM directions to all stakeholders and ensure its implementation,” says Sandeep Singh, regional officer of the Pollution Control Board.