The Delhi government has started working on a “winter action plan” for the national capital to deal with recurring air pollution. (Ministry of Public Transport)
In addition to dust, vehicles, and industrial pollution, we also focus on controlling pollution such as straw burning, open-air burning of garbage, and firecrackers.
The Delhi government has started working on a “winter action plan” for the national capital to tackle recurring air pollution, with the focus likely to be on encouraging working from home, opposing Aam Aadmi Party's flagship odd-even scheme. Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Thursday that this time, the government will also try to change people's behavior through an aggressive anti-pollution campaign.
The minister held a meeting with experts who emphasized on artificial rainfall during winters to combat air pollution.
“The main recommendations of the expert meeting include changing people's behavior related to pollution. Information campaigns should be launched for this purpose,” Rai said.
He listed the main suggestions that the government will focus on, saying that working from home will be encouraged in advance, and odd and even numbers will no longer be used, but voluntary car restrictions will be adopted.
“It is recommended that different offices set different hours, it is recommended to purchase heaters from corporate social responsibility funds and distribute them to social defenders to prevent biomass burning in winter, and encourage the use of electric vehicles in hot spots where electricity levels are not high. Pollution is getting worse, The recommendation for artificial rainfall is important,” he said.
The meeting was chaired by Rai, and leaders and representatives from relevant departments participated and discussed innovative strategies, with artificial rainfall being the top recommendation.
“Based on the experts' recommendations for artificial rainfall, a letter will be sent to the Union Environment Minister on Friday and a meeting will be held with experts from IIT Kanpur and all relevant departments,” Rai said.
He said that future winter action plans will be formulated based on suggestions from leaders and representatives of various departments and agencies. “The main purpose of this meeting is to make the winter action plan more effective based on suggestions given by experts. It was suggested that artificial rainfall should be carried out in case of bad weather in Delhi.
Rai stressed that the government has successfully reduced pollution by working with various departments to formulate summer action plans and winter action plans. With the joint efforts of everyone, the number of good, satisfactory and average days was 110 in 2016 and increased to 206 days in 2023.
“Separate action plans will be prepared for hotspots to reduce pollution and improve air quality. Experts also gave their opinion that by preparing separate action plans for all these hotspots, pollution there should be reduced, thereby further reducing Delhi's of pollution.
This year 14 priorities have been identified and the government will prioritize these issues in the coming days. These are dust, vehicle and industrial pollution; pollution caused by burning straw, burning garbage in the open, setting off firecrackers, etc. The government will also focus on increasing green coverage and tree planting as well as promoting public participation.
Review meeting next week
Rai said that on September 5, relevant departments will hold a winter action plan review meeting and formulate a joint action plan.
The meeting will deploy specific tasks for each department based on the key tasks identified in the Winter Action Plan.
Almost every year, especially after Diwali, Delhi's air quality slips into hazardous levels.
