NOIDA: The path to prison for pollution offences is getting shorter. On Diwali night, over 300 people were arrested in Delhi for bursting crackers outside the time window determined by the Supreme Court. On Saturday, in neighbouring Noida, 18 people were arrested for environmental violations like leaving a pile of dirt lying on the road, a mound of sand uncovered, or not sprinkling water at a construction site.Arrests for such reasons were unheard of before this, and would take people by surprise still in other parts of the country. But in Delhi-NCR, this marks the beginning of a new chapter of enforcement of pollution-control rules.Whether these will become part of local administrators' handbook remains a question. Noida is promising it will, at least over the next few weeks."The situation has to be brought under control, which is why I ordered the arrests. These were the first arrests for violating pollution norms. The drive will continue over the coming weeks," Noida's district magistrate BN Singh said.The arrests were made under the Criminal Procedure Code (Section 151) and provisions of the Environmental Protection Act, 1986. Both charges are bailable.Those taken into custody included officials of Galaxy Builders in Sector 4 of Greater Noida west, Town Central, PKS Group in Sector 16B, those present at an under-construction Bharat Petroleum pump opposite Ecotech 12 and an illegal stone-crushing unit in Patwari village.Singh said the arrests followed an inspection earlier in the day. "I visited several areas in the morning and found gross negligence by builders at many construction sites. At a time when air quality here is hovering around the 'very poor' and 'severe' mark every other day, we have offenders flouting norms laid down by the Central Pollution Control Board. So, I ordered the arrests under CrPC," said Singh.On Saturday, Noida's air quality index stood at 384 (very poor).The inspection team was headed by the Dadri SDM, Anjani Kumar, senior police officers and members of the pollution control board. “In several of the construction sites, we found the entire area shrouded in dust. Construction at several places was being carried out without using tarpaulin or safety nets, there was no sprinkling of water and illegal stone crushers were operating unhindered,” said Kumar. He submitted his report later in the day, following which the arrests were ordered.Last week, the administration had announced that any violation of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, would lead to fines and imprisonment up to six months. It had also said that reckless dumping of garbage or setting them on fire in the open would be treated as “public nuisance” and lead to arrests.

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