NT Reporter
Margao
The Department of Environment and Climate Change has constituted the district air quality monitoring committee (DAQMC) for Kushavati district under the chairmanship of the
District Collector. It will oversee implementation of the state action plan, as directed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in its 2021 order on related interlocutory applications.
The committee, notified in the official gazette, has been formed to provide cleaner air in line with guidelines framed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to ensure coordinated action at the district level.
The 17-member committee includes the superintendent of police, Kushavati; deputy superintendent of police (traffic); deputy directors from industries and commerce, public health, education, panchayats, higher education and transport; senior engineers from the Public Works Department; district agricultural officer; senior town planner; member secretary of the Kushavati Planning and Development Authority; assistant environmental engineer and scientist-D from the Goa State Pollution Control Board; and the deputy collector (revenue). Jenica Sequeira, scientist-D from the pollution control board, will serve as convenor.
The committee will convene quarterly meetings to review air pollution control measures, submit progress reports to the state air quality monitoring committee (AQMC), and handle day-to-day execution of the action plan.
Its key responsibilities include financial planning, overseeing departmental tasks, developing a public grievance redressal system, and launching awareness campaigns to promote sustainable lifestyles and clean air practices. The committee is also tasked with reducing pollutant concentrations to prescribed norms within defined timelines and maintaining high air quality standards in the district.
Air quality data will be updated regularly on the websites of the district collector’s office, municipalities, the science, technology and environment department, the pollution control board and the Tourism Department.
Quarterly minutes, with clear timelines, must be forwarded to the AQMC within seven days of meetings, the order issued by Joint Secretary Sachin S Desai said.
