Dust portal sign-up must for projects over 500 sq.m: DTCP

The Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) has mandated that all new construction projects and plots larger than 500 square meters (sq.m) must register with the dust portal managed by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), officials said. The directive, issued by DTCP director Amit Khatri on October 28, has come into effect immediately and applies to sites where building plans are sanctioned or where change of land use (CLU) permissions are granted in the National Capital Region (NCR).   A DTCP official said that they expect further directions on this matter with regards to compliance. 

The move follows a high-level meeting on September 11, chaired by HSPCB Chairman P Raghavendra Rao, where the need for effective monitoring of construction and demolition (C&D) sites through the dust portal was discussed. The initiative is part of an effort to monitor dust pollution and enforce the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in NCR. “In all new changes of land use permissions and approval of building plans for size more than 500 sq.m in the NCR area, the following condition shall be incorporated: ‘The applicant shall register such sites/plots on the dust portal of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board,’” Khatri said in the order. 

The dust portal will enable authorities to track dust mitigation efforts at construction sites, requiring builders and developers to report on their practices, install CCTV cameras, and provide live feeds to the portal. They will also be expected to deploy anti-smog guns in compliance with directions from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), according to the meeting minutes, officials added. 

Departments such as DTCP, the urban local bodies department, Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran, and the Haryana State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) are tasked with sharing lists of projects larger than 500 square meters, where building plans have been approved online from June 1, 2022, to September 12, 2024, the official said. They will also include details of projects processed offline. This comprehensive data collection aims to enhance dust monitoring and compliance for all qualifying construction projects in the NCR, they added.