Delhi minister Gopal Rai chairs ‘Environmental Experts Meet’ regarding Winter Action Plan
Sep 12, 2023
New Delhi [India], September 12 : In a concerted effort to bolster environmental initiatives and refine the upcoming Winter Action Plan, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai presided over the 'Environmental Expert Meet' held at the Delhi Secretariat on Tuesday.
The gathering saw the active participation of officials and representatives from DPCC, the Environment Department, UNEP, CSE, C40, EPIC India, Clean Air Asia, and IIT Kanpur, among others.
Following the meeting, while addressing a press conference, Gopal Rai said, “Separate action plans will be made for 13 hotspots to reduce pollution and improve air quality. In this 'Environmental Expert Meet' the main points of the Winter Action Plan were discussed. Experts from IIT Kanpur presented a presentation on artificial rain at 'Environmental Expert Meet.'”
He said that a further Winter Action Plan will be prepared on the suggestions by officers and representatives of various departments and institutions. The main objective of this meeting is to make the winter action plan more effective with the suggestions given by the experts. After a recent meeting with CM Arvind Kejriwal, in which many industrialists were present, a suggestion was made to provide artificial rain during the severe days in Delhi. So that the number of severe days can be reduced.
“It is very satisfactory that the number of severe days during winter has reduced from 33 to 6, but given how to reduce it further; the suggestion of artificial rain was made. Experts of IIT Kanpur presented a presentation on the matter of artificial rain, including all the facets of the technology such as implementation, financial burden, etc. Instructions have been given to Kanpur IIT to prepare a detailed presentation keeping in mind all the aspects of artificial rain in Delhi, which will be presented to the CM Arvind Kejriwal,” he added.
Gopal Rai stated that BioMass burning is one of the major causes of pollution in the capital city as per a report by Real Time Apportionment Studies. The stubble burning takes place within 15 days, and the Delhi Government is working towards coordination with the neighboring states on the matter. The Local biomass burning needs sincere attention and we will conduct a meeting with local security guard companies because it's been noticed that during winter security guards stoke bonfires. The DPCC (Delhi Pollution Control Committee) team will continuously monitor the hotspot.
“Under the leadership CM Kejriwal, our government has continuously taken strict steps to reduce air pollution in Delhi, as a result of which in the last 9 years there has been a 42% reduction in PM 10 and 46℅ reductions in PM 2.5. Every year our government launches summer and winter action plans to deal with pollution during the summer and winter seasons,” he further stated.
The minister also said that the suggestions given by experts in the “Environmental Expert Meet” will be included in the winter action plan. Mainly 24 experts participated in this meeting. Such as CSE, SSEE (Sustainable Social Environmental Enterprise), IIT Kanpur, CSTEP (Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy), WRI India (World Resources Institute), A-PAG, Clean Air Asia, ICCT (International Council on Clean Transportation), UNEP (United Nations Environment Program), NITI Aayog, EPIC India, CEEW (Council on Environment, Energy, and Water) etc. These organizations have mainly expressed their views and given their advice on the main topics of vehicle and dust pollution, hotspots, development of green areas, burning of stubble and garbage, communication with the central government and neighboring states etc."
Gopal Rai concluded, "On September 14th, it has been decided to hold a joint meeting with all 28 of these departments. Based on the key points outlined in the Winter Action Plan, specific responsibilities will be given to various departments during the meeting scheduled on 14th September."
