Delhi Air Pollution: Gopal Rai urges Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav to convene joint meeting of NCR states
Oct 17, 2023
New Delhi [India], October 17 : Delhi's Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday wrote a letter today to Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav urging him to hold a joint meeting with the environment ministers of NCR states regarding the problem of air pollution during the winter season in Delhi.
Gopal Rai requested the Union Environment Minister to convene a joint meeting at the earliest so that an action plan can be prepared on the above point and the level of pollution can be reduced.
"31 per cent of pollution in Delhi is due to internal sources, while 69 per cent is from external sources. The Delhi government is taking various steps under the Winter Action Plan to reduce pollution. But unless the factors responsible for pollution are stopped in the NCR states, all these steps taken will not be effective. Therefore, there is a need to convene a joint meeting with environment ministers of NCR states at the earliest," the Environment Minister stated in his letter.
Gopal Rai stated that the problem of pollution increases significantly during the winter season in Delhi. Keeping all factors in mind, the Delhi government has made a winter action plan based on 15 focus points this time which the government is working on, he added.
The Environment Minister further said that as a result of all the measures taken by the Delhi government, the level of pollution inside Delhi is continuously declining.
"As a result of the steps taken by the Delhi government, pollution has come down by 30 per cent in the last 8 years. But unless the factors responsible for pollution are stopped in the NCR states, all these steps taken will not be effective. The report released by the CSE shows that 31 per cent of pollution in Delhi is due to internal sources, while 69 per cent is from external sources," the letter mentioned.
Minister Gopal Rai stated in the letter that to reduce pollution in Delhi, it is necessary to take effective steps by holding joint meetings with the concerned NCR states on the following points including stopping the incidents of stubble burning in NCR and converting the heavily polluting brick kilns running in NCR states into zig-zag technology.
"Many industrial units in NCR states are still running on polluting fuel and they should be converted to piped natural gas immediately. All public transport coming from NCR to Delhi should be run on CNG or electric," the letter highlighted.
The letter also urged a discussion on a complete ban on firecrackers in NCR states like Delhi.
"To reduce dependency on diesel generators, 24-hour electricity should be ensured for all housing societies in NCR states. There should be a complete ban on firecrackers in NCR states like Delhi. The concerned State Governments should be asked to divert non-destined vehicles on Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways from their starting point," Minister Rai said in his letter.
