Delhi: Anti-Industrial Pollution campaign to be conducted from Oct 20 to Nov 20

New Delhi [India], October 18 : In an endeavour to curb industrial pollution in the national capital, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday said that an 'Anti-Industrial Pollution' campaign will be conducted from October 20 to November 20.
Speaking to ANI on the initiative, the Delhi Environment Minister said, "In order to curb industrial pollution in Delhi, today a joint meeting was conducted between the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) and the Environment Department."
"A joint decision was taken in the meeting, that an 'Anti-Industrial Pollution' campaign will be conducted from October 20 to November 20 in the state capital," Rai said.
"The focus of the campaign will be on two key points. First, all the industrial units in Delhi will be under surveillance for pollution. Another is that people dump garbage in empty plots and burn them in the industrial areas, this creates air pollution. A check will be kept on them under this issue. 66 teams have been deployed to keep a check on these two key issues for a month, starting from October 20 to November 20," the minister added.
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.