NOIDA: The Dadri road, Sector 62, and the Sector 62/104 road have entered the UPPCBs list of pollution hotspots in the city this year, while the Yamuna Pushta area, Noida Expressway, Sector 150, and the Sector 116/115/7x area have retained their spots from last year. As part of GRAP stage 1, which comes into effect from October 1, authorities will take suitable measures in these hotspots, where construction activities and traffic jams are the leading sources of air pollution. According to the UPPCB, the leading pollution source is road dust in the Yamuna Pushta area, construction activities in the Sector 116/115/7x area, traffic jams and underpass construction work on the Noida Expressway, construction activities again in Sector 150, construction and traffic congestion on Dadri road, congestion on the Sector 62/104 road, and Ghazipur site waste burning and Delhi-Meerut expressway traffic in the Sector 62 office hub. The UPPCB is preparing to implement the GRAP from October 1. We issued letters to all stakeholders for nomination of nodal officers. We also issued public notices to check pollution in winter. The district administration separately wrote to the authorities for improving road infrastructure, as well as mechanised sweeping and water sprinkling on roads, said Utsav Sharma, regional officer of UPPCB in Noida, adding that dust mitigation measures and pollution checks will be in place at the seven hotspots, too.Last year, there were eight hotspots in Noida—the Noida Expressway, 7x sectors, Sector 150, the UP state industrial development authority area, Greater Noida West, Noida Gate, and the Yamuna and Hindon Pushta areas. Neighbouring Ghaziabad had ten hotspots—Vasundhara, Siddharth Vihar, Indirapuram, Sahibabad, Raj Nagar Extension, Delhi-Meerut Road, Loni, Delhi-Bhopura border, GT Road Industrial Area, and Sanjay Nagar. The UPPCB, however, has not shared a revised list of hotspots in Ghaziabad yet.Vikas Mishra, regional officer of UPPCB in Ghaziabad, said all departments are prepared to enforce GRAP in the city. We also asked the nagar nigam to ensure proper upkeep of roads and solid waste management, he said.The enforcement of solid waste management rules and construction and demolition guidelines, registration of construction sites on an official portal, mechanical sweeping of roads, anti-smog gun use, ban on regular use of diesel gensets, etc., are part of GRAP stage 1.Rajnish Nandan, president of RWA of Parsvnath Prestige in Sector 93A, suggested categorising running lifts in societies as essential services because many have not upgraded to PNG gensets from diesel ones yet as the upgrade cost is very high. The government should consider lifts in highrises as essential services. Or else, how will residents, especially children and elderly, reach their flats? The government should also give subsidies for switching from diesel to PNG gensets, Nandan said.

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