11-member panel to curb air pollution: Gujarat government

The state government on Thursday set up an 11-member committee to find out what's causing air pollution in the city and suggest ways to control it. The committee would also conduct a study on the Pirana dumpsite.

The committee will be headed by the Additional Chief Secretary of Forest & Environment Department and will comprise ACS of Energy and Petrochemicals Department, and Principal Secretary of Urban Development Department, an official communication stated.

"Ahmedabad's Municipal Commissioner and the state's Road Transport Commissioner would also be a part of the high-level committee," the state government said.

Urban transport expert Prof Shivanand Swamy, LD Engineering College's Prof GH Ban, Forest & Environment Department's Director, LD Engineering College's retired professor JN Joshi, and Gujarat Cleaner Production Centre's member secretary Dr Bharat Jain are the other members of the committee. Gujarat Pollution Control Board's member secretary would be the committee's convener.

The committee's formation comes in the wake of concerns expressed by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani about air pollution in Ahmedabad and the Pirana dumpsite on the occasion of World Environment Day on June 5. He had said at the time that it would take measures to reduce air pollution in the city within a year.

A senior government official said the committee would study the various factors and reasons that lead to high air pollution in Ahmedabad and prepare a roadmap to curb it. It will also suggest how Pirana, which has become a pollution nightmare and an eyesore for the city, can be dealt with.