Weekly Environmental News Update for Week 39, 2021

Weekly environmental news update from across different media networks for Week 39 (Sep 27 to Oct 3) 2021.

1. Delhi govt. to issue guidelines to avoid biomass burning at night   
   Delhi government will work to issue guidelines to the RWAs, construction, and other agencies workers to avoid biomass burning at night.
2. Air quality body directs Delhi, nearby States to video monitor construction projects
   With the monsoon drawing to a close and wind patterns expected to change, Delhi and nearby States are preparing to grapple with their annual bouts of severe air pollution.
3. Air quality panel asks Delhi, NCR states to set up monitoring portal
   The Commission for Air Quality Management directed the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to develop an online mechanism to monitor construction agencies’ dust mitigation measures in the NCR and adjoining areas.
4. Delhi to get over ₹18 cr ‘green’ funds from govt for air pollution management
   Delhi will be getting the funds from National Clean Air Programme for the 20-30% reduction in PM2.5 and PM10 concentration.
5. Deaths due to coal pollution in Delhi may double in 9 years, says study
   The report by C40 Cities, “Coal-free cities: the health and economic case for a clean energy revolution”, says Delhi records 330 premature deaths due to coal-related pollution a year.
6. Record rains in Delhi help raise groundwater along Yamuna floodplains by 2.5m
   In July 2019, the Delhi government launched a water conservation project along the Yamuna river, which aimed at recharging the depleting groundwater levels in the national capital.
7. Matka man’ in Delhi is on mission to serve free potable water to the thirsty
   Alagarathanam Natarajan, who has set up matka stands, provides free drinking water in South Delhi since 2014.
8. Delhi civic bodies plan to flatten landfill sites in their areas, set deadlines
   The three municipalities – North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporations – have set deadlines of June 2022, December 2023 and December 2024, respectively to shut landfill sites in their jurisdictions.
9. Delhi: SDMC cuts size of new landfill site planned in Okhla
   To speed up setting up of an engineered landfill site at Tehkhand near Okhla, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation has decided to cut the size of the project from the planned 27.34 acres to 24 acres.
10. IGL, SDMC ink pact to set up waste-to-energy plant for fuelling CNG-run vehicles
    State-owned Indraprastha Gas Limited signed a pact with SDMC to set up a waste-to-energy plant in the national capital to convert municipal solid waste into compressed bio-gas for fuelling CNG-run vehicles.
11. Monitoring system stolen from three STPs, new systems yet to be reinstalled 
    No new system installed despite letters to the DJB, says DPCC.
12. Delhi: DPCC to impose fines if diesel generator sets don’t meet sound and noise emission norms 
    The violation regarding generator sets can lead to a fine of Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh, depending on the size of the DG set, as per the new rules.
13. From October 1, Centre’s Clean India Campaign To Target Plastic Waste
    The government will launch an innovative month-long campaign to collect and remove 75 lakh kilograms of single-use plastic waste from across the country.
14. 60 species identified in Aravallis in Haryana’s first butterfly survey
    Haryana State Forest and Wildlife department conducted the state’s first butterfly survey in Rewari’s Khol block. Sixty species of butterfly were identified in the area during the one-day survey.
15. Gurugram administration issues guidelines to combat air pollution this winter
    To combat air pollution, the Gurgaon district administration has issued directions listing out several key measures to be implemented from October 1.
16. ‘The alternative Nobel’: Delhi-based law advocacy group bags green award 
    Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE), a Delhi-based environmental law advocacy group, received 2021 Right Livelihood Award, Sweden’s alternative to Nobel Prize.
17. Balaghat Chinnor rice first agriculture produce in Madhya Pradesh to get GI tag
    Chinnor rice produced in Balaghat district has bagged the GI tag.
18. Uttar Pradesh’s first air pollution control tower to come up along DND in Noida 
    Uttar Pradesh’s first air pollution control tower is set to come up along the DND expressway in Noida within two months from now.
19. Chennai Central railway station now fully powered by solar energy
    The station has installed 1.5 Megawatt capacity solar panels on the platform shelters and 100 per cent energy requirement of the station is now met by solar power during the day.
20. Photo of gorilla surrounded by butterflies wins photography competition
    A photo of a gorilla surrounded by butterflies clicked by UK-based photographer Anup Shah has won The Nature Conservancy’s 2021 photo competition.