IMC will issue guidelines on clean construction practices to improve air quality: Shivam Verma

The stakeholder consultation on clean construction practices and management of construction and demolition waste deliberated on tackle dust pollution from construction activities

Indore(Team Newsbuddy) : Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) has planned to come up with guidelines on clean construction practices to curb dust emissions from construction activities. The guidelines will focus on promoting practices that will help on-site staff, engineers, contractors, and supervisors to mitigate dust emission during the construction processes. It will also address the Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste management challenges.

IMC under the guidance of Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav and in collaboration with WRI India organised ‘Stakeholder Consultation on Clean Construction Practices in Indore’ with various government and private stakeholders like Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MPMRCL), Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation (MPRDC), Town & Country Planning (T&CP), Indore Smart City, Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB), IIT Indore, Indore Development Authority (IDA) and engineers and contractors from IMC that executes infrastructure works. The consultation deliberated on the role of construction in air pollution, challenges on adopting clean construction practices and benefits of such practices for on-site staff, the public, and for overall air quality.
A four-page brochure in Hindi on ‘Clean Construction Practices for Indore’ was also launched at the hands of municipal commissioner shri Verma. Construction and road dust, vehicular emission, industry are some of the key contributors to air pollution in Indore city.
Municipal Commissioner, IMC, Shivam Verma, IAS, said, “This workshop is the first step towards adopting clean construction practices that will benefit city’s air quality in long term. Indore has taken several proactive steps on scaling city’s air quality management. Based on the outcomes from the consultation, IMC will formulate a guideline on clean construction practices. Once the guideline framework is ready, we will start enforcement at all construction sites. We would encourage institutions like CREDAI, other developer associations and government departments executing infrastructure works to share their thoughts and help us in develop comprehensive practices.”

Municipal Commissioner also appreciated WRI India’s efforts to organize the stakeholder consultation.
Construction practices like excavation and backfilling, demolition, concreting and mixing, stone cutting, surface cleansing generate dust. This can be mitigated by following clean construction practices such as sprinkling of water at demolition, excavation sites, and other dust generation activities, covering open areas.

Dr. Prakash Doraiswamy, Director, Air Quality, WRI India said, “Indore is a growing city with various ongoing infrastructure and real estate developments that are contributing to increased construction activities generating dust. Implementation of solutions that can reduce dust emissions at construction sites will enable environmental as well as health benefits for the citizens. The takeaways from the workshop will help in devising comprehensive clean construction strategies for the city of Indore.”

WRI India is providing technical assistance to IMC under the Accelerator for Clean Air Actions (ACAAS) program to prepare and implement solutions towards improving air quality.