Affordable Housing Hubs Of Noida, Ghaziabad Getting Dirtier

The long wait of thousands of homes in Noida and Ghaziabad may be over soon but in the meantime, those who are already living in the two cities are finding it hard to breathe. Reading of the three air quality monitoring stations in the two cities ─ Noida has one while Ghaziabad has two of them ─ crossed the 300 mark as particulate matter-10 (PM10) levels touched a high on March 28. The situation was likely to prevail in the days to come, say experts.

According to another report by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, six cities in India’s most populous state have nearly four times the PM10 level against the permissible limit. In this list of 24 cities where an air quality check was conducted in February, Ghaziabad leads this pack while Lucknow and Kanpur are listed at the second and third place, respectively.  Noida occupies the fourth place. According to media reports, the Prime Minister’s Office has asked the three developmental bodies in Noida — the Noida Authority, the Greater Noida Authority and the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority — to prepare an action plan to tame air pollution, and has promised monetary support if need be.

This is most extraordinary since pollution levels are in general down in the summers. But, this should not be of any surprise to those who know the first thing about construction. Construction activities and road dust would unsurprisingly lead to an increase PM10 levels in the air. Feeling public wrath over their failure to meet project deadlines, real estate developers in the two cities of Noida and Ghaziabad have gone on a frenzy to finish work.  In place of launching new projects, most of them are focusing all their attention on completion on their ongoing projects.

Authorities also include heavy vehicular movement as a cause of this problem.In the meantime, inaction is prevalent and residents of the two affordable housing hubs in the national capital region are suffering.