Residents of cities including Noida, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram are appealing to the government for assistance as the ban on diesel generators, scheduled to take effect on October 1, approaches.
In the National Capital Region (NCR), hundreds of apartment residents in areas like Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram have expressed their concerns and disagreement with the impending ban on diesel generators.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a central agency established to address air pollution, issued an order in June mandating the ban on diesel generators by October 1.
Members of apartment associations argue that they are unable to bear the financial burden of making the necessary changes themselves.
Alok Kumar, a member of an apartment owners’ association in Ghaziabad, stated, “The apartment owners of many societies are struggling to get basic amenities. How can they change their massive gensets or retrofit them? Government agencies must understand the ground realities before making such decisions.”
Abhishek Kumar, the president of the New Era Flat Owners Welfare Association (NEFOWA), believes that it should be the responsibility of the builders to provide CNG-based generators before handing over flats to residents. He questioned why apartment owners should bear the entire cost and suggested that the government should hold builders accountable for retrofitting.
Ashish Kumar, a Gurugram resident, shared similar sentiments to those of his counterparts in Noida and Ghaziabad. He emphasized the need for systematic removal of diesel generators with government support for residential societies instead of imposing abrupt bans.
The agency had set a deadline of September 30 for apartment owners to replace their diesel generators with CNG-based alternatives. The decision to impose such an order was driven by the worsening pollution levels in the Delhi-NCR region during the winter months.
