Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday said that his government has proposed to implement work from home policy, ban all construction work and shut down industries in the National Capital Region to tackle air pollution, reported ANI.
The statement came after the Commission for Air Quality Management, a body set up by the Centre, held a meeting with officials of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to review the steps taken to address the air crisis.
“The other states have also put forth their views and we are waiting for an official notification from the commission,” Rai said, according to PTI.
He also said that the Delhi government’s “Red Light On, Gaadi [vehicle] Off” campaign meant to curb vehicular pollution will be extended by 15 days. The campaign was going to end on November 18.
Rai also asked the Centre to clarify its claims regarding the contribution of farm fires to pollution in the National Capital Region, ANI reported.
“In its affidavit, the Centre mentioned both 4% and 35% to 40% stubble burning contribution in air pollution,” he said. “It should be clarified… How can both be correct? I urge the environment minister to verify [the data].”
On Monday, the Centre had told the Supreme Court that stubble burning is not a major cause of air pollution in Delhi. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had said that burning of farm waste accounted for just 10% of the emissions on an average through the year.
The latest meeting of the Commission for Air Quality Management was organised amid deteriorating air quality in Delhi. The air quality in Delhi on Tuesday dropped to the severe category, data by Central Pollution Control Board for 11 am showed. The air quality index, or AQI, was recorded at 402.
Real-time data available on System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research, or Safar, at 1.20 pm showed Delhi’s overall AQI at 374.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good’’, 51 and 100 “satisfactory’’, 101 and 200 “moderate’’, 201 and 300 “poor’’, 301 and 400 “very poor’’, and 401 and 500 “severe’’.
The Commission for Air Quality Management’s latest meeting came a day after the Supreme Court asked the Centre to come up with urgent measures to tackle factors contributing to air pollution and find ways to implement them.
The Centre had told the court that stubble burning is not a major cause of air pollution in Delhi. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had said that burning of farm waste accounted for just 10% of the emissions on an average through the year.
On Monday, the share of stubble burning in Delhi’s pollution stood at 10%, the lowest since Diwali on November 4. On average, farm fires accounted for about 25% of the PM2.5 pollution in Delhi between November 1 and November 15.
The concentration of PM2.5 in Delhi was 220 micrograms per cubic metre and that of PM10 was 365 micrograms per cubic metre at 7 am on Tuesday, reported India Today. A PM2.5 concentration of 300 micrograms per cubic metre is considered “severe”. For PM10 , the “severe” threshold is 500 micrograms per cubic metre.
The air quality in Delhi and surrounding areas like Gurugram, Noida and Ghaziabad dropped sharply in November after residents defied a ban on firecrackers.
Delhi’s pollution gets worse in October and November also because of farmers burning stubble in neighbouring states, unfavourable wind speed and emission of fumes by the local traffic in the city.
Delhi and Haryana have already taken several measures to check air pollution, including closing schools and barring all types of construction work.
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