Delhi-NCR air pollution Rai urges Union minister Bhupender Yadav to call joint meeting
New Delhi Nov 18 PTI Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday urged Union minister Bhupender Yadav to call a joint meeting and prepare an action plan to tackle air pollution in Delhi-NCR Rai also cited a study from Indian Institute of Tropical Management IITM a central government-run body that 69 per cent share in Delhis air pollution between October 24 and November 8 was of external sources He said that a similar study by TERI in 2016 had shown that 64 per cent pollution is due to external sources and 36 per cent pollution is due internal source of DelhiIITM is a central government institute which has analysed per hour data of Safar to understand the source of pollution IITMs data analysis from October 24 to November 8 shows that 69 per cent Delhis pollution is due to external source and 31 per cent is due to Delhis internal source Rai said in a press conferenceHe added that the Delhi government is taking a number of steps from anti-dust campaigns to Red Light on Gaadi Off campaign to controlling the citys internal pollution But it requires a joint effort from all NCR states such as Haryana Punjab Delhi and Uttar Pradesh the minister saidPeople of Delhi cant reduce the 70 per cent of the external sources of pollution Thats why I am requesting again the Union environment minister to call a joint meeting of environment minister from NCR states and make a joint action plan Responsibilities of each state should be fixed to implement that plan and reduce pollution Rai saidHe also alleged that construction activities are going unabated in surrounding areas of Delhi which is further worsening the air Rai said the Delhi government is providing 24-hour electricity supply due to which generator sets do not have to function here but it is not so in NCR cities The Delhi government on Wednesday banned entry of trucks barring those carrying essential items with immediate effect in the national capital till November 21 or any further orders amid alarming levels of air pollutionThe government has also shut schools colleges and other educational institutions till further orders and extend the ban on construction and demolition activities till November 21 Later in the day the government issued a statement where it said that Centre for Science and Environment CSE analysed the data of IITM which revealed that the pollution generated inside Delhi has reduced in the last five yearsThe CSE took the data from the Decision Support System DSS for 15 days per hour from October 24 to November 8 and analysed it to get the result that 69 per cent pollution in Delhi was because of external sourcesThe environment minister said that in the Supreme Court the central government has accepted that the share of stubble burning in pollution has increased from 35 to 40 per cent the effect of which is visible inside Delhi the statement said Rai in the statement said that the government has converted around 1500 industries to CNG-based which had previously been running on pollutant fuel According to the Commission for Air Quality Management the same was to be done for the entirety of NCR but it never happened We had made this appeal in the previous Joint Meeting where the Union environment minister the chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab the environment ministers of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh but to no avail Rai said in the statementHe said that are no brick kilns within Delhi but there are many right outside All the pollution from these kilns is entering Delhi Now they are talking of an emergency shutdown of the thermal power plant But the suggestion to help it move on to advanced technology has been postponed every time Rai said in the statement PTI AKM KJ
New Delhi Nov 18 PTI Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday urged Union minister Bhupender Yadav to call a joint meeting and prepare an action plan to tackle air pollution in Delhi-NCR Rai also cited a study from Indian Institute of Tropical Management IITM a central government-run body that 69 per cent share in Delhis air pollution between October 24 and November 8 was of external sources He said that a similar study by TERI in 2016 had shown that 64 per cent pollution is due to external sources and 36 per cent pollution is due internal source of DelhiIITM is a central government institute which has analysed per hour data of Safar to understand the source of pollution IITMs data analysis from October 24 to November 8 shows that 69 per cent Delhis pollution is due to external source and 31 per cent is due to Delhis internal source Rai said in a press conferenceHe added that the Delhi government is taking a number of steps from anti-dust campaigns to Red Light on Gaadi Off campaign to controlling the citys internal pollution But it requires a joint effort from all NCR states such as Haryana Punjab Delhi and Uttar Pradesh the minister saidPeople of Delhi cant reduce the 70 per cent of the external sources of pollution Thats why I am requesting again the Union environment minister to call a joint meeting of environment minister from NCR states and make a joint action plan Responsibilities of each state should be fixed to implement that plan and reduce pollution Rai saidHe also alleged that construction activities are going unabated in surrounding areas of Delhi which is further worsening the air Rai said the Delhi government is providing 24-hour electricity supply due to which generator sets do not have to function here but it is not so in NCR cities The Delhi government on Wednesday banned entry of trucks barring those carrying essential items with immediate effect in the national capital till November 21 or any further orders amid alarming levels of air pollutionThe government has also shut schools colleges and other educational institutions till further orders and extend the ban on construction and demolition activities till November 21 Later in the day the government issued a statement where it said that Centre for Science and Environment CSE analysed the data of IITM which revealed that the pollution generated inside Delhi has reduced in the last five yearsThe CSE took the data from the Decision Support System DSS for 15 days per hour from October 24 to November 8 and analysed it to get the result that 69 per cent pollution in Delhi was because of external sourcesThe environment minister said that in the Supreme Court the central government has accepted that the share of stubble burning in pollution has increased from 35 to 40 per cent the effect of which is visible inside Delhi the statement said Rai in the statement said that the government has converted around 1500 industries to CNG-based which had previously been running on pollutant fuel According to the Commission for Air Quality Management the same was to be done for the entirety of NCR but it never happened We had made this appeal in the previous Joint Meeting where the Union environment minister the chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab the environment ministers of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh but to no avail Rai said in the statementHe said that are no brick kilns within Delhi but there are many right outside All the pollution from these kilns is entering Delhi Now they are talking of an emergency shutdown of the thermal power plant But the suggestion to help it move on to advanced technology has been postponed every time Rai said in the statement PTI AKM KJ
