Minister of state for environment Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday launched a nationwide campaign to reduce noise levels across India, as it was turning “too noisy”.
The Ambient Noise Monitoring Network’s first phase will see 35 stations set up in seven metros — including New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru — each with five remote monitoring terminals in different zones to ensure that noise levels do not exceed permissible limits.
New rules mandate stress be laid on putting restrictions on the use of horns, sound emitting construction equipment and bursting of firecrackers between 10 pm and 6 am. The amended Noise Regulation Rules 2000 set limits on noise levels in industrial zones (75 decibels), commercial zones (65 decibels) and residential zones (55 decibels), and make silence zones around schools, courts and hospitals mandatory.
Referring to increasing noise levels in New Delhi, Mr Ramesh cited the example of ITO, where he said the prescribed 65-decibel level should not be exceeded.
The second phase will see this network extended to 90 stations in 16 major cities by 2012. Phase 3 will see a quantum jump — reaching cities like Kanpur, Surat, Pune, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Jaipur, Dehra Dun, Amritsar, Indore, Bhopal, Ludhiana, Patna, Bhuba-neswar , Ranchi and Raipur.
The minister said state governments should specify in advance the days — not exceeding 15 a year — when the noise restrictions would be relaxed two hours: starting midnight instead of 10 pm.
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