New Delhi [India], December 3 : Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, on Wednesday stated that the Delhi government has been asked to prepare a plan for the next year on air pollution. He said the primary cause of dust was potholes.
Speaking to reporters, Bhupender Yadav said," We have asked the Delhi government to prepare a plan for the next year on this issue. The biggest reason for dust is potholes. Talks have been held to increase the greenery space in Delhi. We have identified 61 traffic hotspots in Delhi. CAQM is making an expert committee on vehicle pollution. In December, we will hold meetings with Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad, and Gurgaon. Regarding stubble, we will organise a meeting with Haryana and Punjab in Chandigarh.
He further said that the Ministry of Urban Development was working on Solid Waste Management.
He said that stubble burning had declined by 90 per cent compared to 2018 after the government provided CRM machines.
"We will work on the grassroot level on the next one-year plan. We will start a movement with the local body and the youths will be involved. PM's Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam and Mission Life are initiatives to create a citizen-friendly environment," he added.
Chairing a high-level review meeting on Air Pollution in Delhi on Wednesday, Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, asked all concerned State/UT authorities to expedite the on-ground implementation of all decisions taken in the previous five meetings, to improve Air Quality in Delhi-NCR.
According to an official statement from the ministry, Delhi's Environment, Forest and Wildlife Minister, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, was present at the meeting.
Reviewing each action point minutely, Yadav emphasised the need for high-quality implementation of action plans in Delhi-NCR across all identified categories. The areas included accelerated Road Development and Repair, Dust Control by ensuring end-to-end pavement coverage, Construction and Demolition Waste Management, Industry compliance with Emission Standards, Smart Traffic Management, boosting Public Transport, legacy Solid Waste Management, and Greening of open spaces.
The Minister requested that each stakeholder prepare detailed Annual Action Plans for the coming year to control pollution generation at the source.
"The year-long roadmaps would ensure proactive planning toward improving air quality in the NCR," the Union Minister noted, according to the official statement.
Yadav also directed that on-the-ground review meetings would soon be held to ensure that the action plans are being implemented in earnest. The meetings, coordinated by the CAQM, would include discussions with the Agriculture Departments of the Governments of Punjab and Haryana on stubble burning; with the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Development on new initiatives for planned urban development; with local bodies of NCR cities on tackling local contributors of pollution.
During the meeting, issues were addressed one by one, and progress was reviewed. On the issue of industry compliance with emission standards in Delhi-NCR, a decision was made to hold delinquent units liable to encourage them to voluntarily accelerate the installation of Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) and Air Pollution Control Devices (APCD).
Strict Action will be taken against units that fail to comply by the end of December, including closure orders.