14 focus points set for Winter Action Plan: Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai

New Delhi [India], August 16 : Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai held a high-level meeting with the Environment Department and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) officials on Friday to prepare a winter action plan against air pollution in Delhi.
The Environment Minister said that the Delhi government has started preparing a winter action plan for the coming days against pollution.
According to an official release, "This year's winter action plan is based on 14 focus points such as vehicular and dust pollution, hotspots, stubble and garbage burning, dialogue with the central government and neighbouring states, and upgrading the green war room and green app."
Along with this, a joint action plan will be prepared on the focus points by meeting with all 33 departments concerned on September 5.
Giving information about some of the major decisions taken to prepare the winter action plan, Gopal Rai said that the Kejriwal government has started the process of preparing a winter action plan for Delhiites against the problem of pollution in winter.
He said that a review meeting was held with senior officials of the Environment and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) in this regard on Friday.
During the meeting, many important suggestions came, in which mainly 14 focus points have been identified on which the government will work in the coming days. Based on that, the winter action plan will be prepared.
The 14 focus points include dust pollution, pollution caused by vehicles, burning of stubble, open garbage burning, industrial pollution, green war rooms and green apps, hotspots, real-time source apportionment studies, increasing green areas, and tree plantations.
Gopal Rai said that work will be done keeping 14 focus points in mind. The first is dust pollution and all steps will be taken to reduce it.
As per the official release, the major issues include pollution caused by vehicles, the problem of stubble, and garbage burning at various places. Apart from this, industrial pollution is also a major concern.
It will be ensured that all registered industrial units of Delhi are converted to run on PNG. Also, it has been decided to upgrade the Green War Room and Green Delhi App so that we can communicate with people in a better way and their complaints can be acted upon on time.
The Environment Minister said, "The next focus point is hotspots. These are the areas of Delhi where most people face air pollution. The causes of pollution will be detected in real-time through a real-time source allocation study. E-waste Eco Park will also be an important focus point. Apart from this, efforts will be made to increase the green area and encourage public awareness and public participation.
Control of the bursting of firecrackers is also a focus point. Work will be done jointly to control pollution by establishing a dialogue with the central government and neighbouring states. Apart from this, attention will also be paid to the implementation of GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan). All these 14 focus points will be part of our Winter Action Plan."
Gopal Rai said that there are many major agencies working inside Delhi that have different roles.
A joint meeting with all 33 departments will be held on September 5. Senior officials from MCD, NDMC, Cantonment Board, DDA, CPWD, PWD, Traffic Police, Transport Department, Environment Department, DPCC and Development Department will attend this meeting.
"The main objective of this meeting is to prepare a joint action plan against pollution inside Delhi. In the meeting to be held on September 5, different departments will be assigned specific tasks based on the 14 focus points set under the Winter Action Plan. Along with this, the proper implementation of GRAP in Delhi will also be discussed," he said.