Delhis pollution fight Plenty of orders but little gains in 2021
New Delhi Dec 31 PTI Delhi will remember 2021 as a year of announcements and orders but little gains from the environment point of view with air pollution rising to 2019 levels and the Yamuna often referred to as the national capitals lifeline struggling to survive the ecological assault of sewage and industrial effluentsStubble burning rampant firecracker bursting on Diwali and unfavourable meteorological conditions in the early phase of winters turned the city into a gas chamber again The thick pungent haze over Delhi-NCR smudged landmarks from view and partially blotted out the sun for several days after Diwali with green think-tank Centre of Science and Environment calling it one of the longest smog episodes in the city Even the 24-meter-tall smog tower in Connaught Place an ambitious pilot project of the Delhi government could not give breathable air Officials said smog towers can reduce pollution only to a certain extent and one cannot expect the large air purifiers to provide clean air on hazardous air quality daysEnvironmentalists and scientists have been saying there is no proven record or data globally that establishes that smog towers are effectiveDespite the Centres Commission for Air Quality Management CAQM issuing a slew of directions including use of a microbial solution to states to manage paddy residue the count of farm fires in Punjab and Haryana exceeded the number recorded in 2017 2018 and 2019 On November 7 the share of farm fires in Delhis pollution rose to 48 percent the highest in three yearsDelhi saw the Supreme Court and the CAQM going all out to pull it out of an air crisis which forced closure of schools and construction and demolition activities for almost a month and a temporary shutdown of six coal-based power plants within a 300-km radius of Delhi and industries in NCR that failed to move to piped natural gas The air quality panel imposed curbs on entry of trucks barring those engaged in essential services and run on CNG to cut down vehicular pollutionThe CAQM issued a total of 47 directions and seven advisories during the year to curb air pollution While the city government ran several campaigns to reduce air pollution including Red Light On Gaadi Off anti-dust and anti-burning drives there is no data to establish these efforts yielded resultsAn extended Monsoon and record-breaking rainfall gave Delhi its best air quality in October in four years but the air pollution in November was the worst in the month since 2015December recorded the longest streak of six severe air quality days since 2015A government official said Delhi will be better prepared to deal with the situation next year and major focus will be on vehicular emissions — vehicles contribute to about 40 percent of PM 25 emissions here Industries in Delhi have completely switched to PNG Action on road dust and dust pollution due to construction and demolition work and garbage burning is ongoing The major focus next year will be on vehicles he said The Delhi government is likely to ask e-commerce companies food delivery services and cab aggregators which account for 30 percent of the wheels on the roads to completely switch to electric vehiclesPetrol pumps will be directed to not give fuel to vehicles without a pollution-under-check certificateDirections under the Environment Protection Act in this regard are expected to be issued soonIn compliance with the National Green Tribunals directions the Delhi government will deregister diesel vehicles which will complete 10 years on January 1 2022 and issue NOC so that they can be re-registered in other placesHowever no NOC will be issued for diesel vehicles which have completed 15 years or moreThe city government is likely to give some funds received from the Centre under National Clean Air Programme NCAP to municipal corporations for the first time for management of road dust and potholes and prevent open waste burningThis is the first time Delhi has got funds under NCAP a national-level strategy for 20 to 30 per cent reduction in PM25 and PM10 concentration by 2024Delhi has been allocated Rs 1874 crore under NCAP The first instalment of Rs 11 crore was released earlier this month according Union environment ministry officialsIn 2022 Delhi will publish its first State of Environment Report which will have data on all key areas including sewage water quality waste collection and segregationThe multiplicity of departments in Delhi impedes problem resolution Had it been Nagpur or Mumbai or Chennai it would have been easier So the objective is to fix accountability on departments concerned an official said Delhi squandered the gains made in the Yamuna water quality due to the lockdown in 2020The high pollution load and resultant frothing in the river in November around Chhath attracted global condemnationThe Delhi government deployed 15 boats to remove toxic froth at Kalindi Kunj banks where people gathered for Chhath despite restrictions Bamboo structures were installed and water sprayed from tankers to dissipate the foam As the administration faced flak for these cover-up measures officials admitted that the problem of frothing a sign hazardous water quality will continue unless sewage treatment plants STPs and common effluent treatment plants in Delhi are upgraded to meet the new standards and all unauthorized colonies are connected to the sewer networkOn an average 24 out of the 35 STPs in Delhi did not meet prescribed standards for wastewater over the last one year government data statedDelhi generates around 720 million gallons of wastewater a day The 35 STPs at 20 locations can treat up to 597 MGD and have been utilising around 90 percent of their capacityChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced a 6-point action plan to clean Yamuna and constituted a cell to improve co-ordination among agencies involved in cleaning the riverHe said he will deliver on the promise he made before the 2019 assembly elections to clean the rivers Delhi stretch PTI GVS ANB ANB
New Delhi Dec 31 PTI Delhi will remember 2021 as a year of announcements and orders but little gains from the environment point of view with air pollution rising to 2019 levels and the Yamuna often referred to as the national capitals lifeline struggling to survive the ecological assault of sewage and industrial effluentsStubble burning rampant firecracker bursting on Diwali and unfavourable meteorological conditions in the early phase of winters turned the city into a gas chamber again The thick pungent haze over Delhi-NCR smudged landmarks from view and partially blotted out the sun for several days after Diwali with green think-tank Centre of Science and Environment calling it one of the longest smog episodes in the city Even the 24-meter-tall smog tower in Connaught Place an ambitious pilot project of the Delhi government could not give breathable air Officials said smog towers can reduce pollution only to a certain extent and one cannot expect the large air purifiers to provide clean air on hazardous air quality daysEnvironmentalists and scientists have been saying there is no proven record or data globally that establishes that smog towers are effectiveDespite the Centres Commission for Air Quality Management CAQM issuing a slew of directions including use of a microbial solution to states to manage paddy residue the count of farm fires in Punjab and Haryana exceeded the number recorded in 2017 2018 and 2019 On November 7 the share of farm fires in Delhis pollution rose to 48 percent the highest in three yearsDelhi saw the Supreme Court and the CAQM going all out to pull it out of an air crisis which forced closure of schools and construction and demolition activities for almost a month and a temporary shutdown of six coal-based power plants within a 300-km radius of Delhi and industries in NCR that failed to move to piped natural gas The air quality panel imposed curbs on entry of trucks barring those engaged in essential services and run on CNG to cut down vehicular pollutionThe CAQM issued a total of 47 directions and seven advisories during the year to curb air pollution While the city government ran several campaigns to reduce air pollution including Red Light On Gaadi Off anti-dust and anti-burning drives there is no data to establish these efforts yielded resultsAn extended Monsoon and record-breaking rainfall gave Delhi its best air quality in October in four years but the air pollution in November was the worst in the month since 2015December recorded the longest streak of six severe air quality days since 2015A government official said Delhi will be better prepared to deal with the situation next year and major focus will be on vehicular emissions — vehicles contribute to about 40 percent of PM 25 emissions here Industries in Delhi have completely switched to PNG Action on road dust and dust pollution due to construction and demolition work and garbage burning is ongoing The major focus next year will be on vehicles he said The Delhi government is likely to ask e-commerce companies food delivery services and cab aggregators which account for 30 percent of the wheels on the roads to completely switch to electric vehiclesPetrol pumps will be directed to not give fuel to vehicles without a pollution-under-check certificateDirections under the Environment Protection Act in this regard are expected to be issued soonIn compliance with the National Green Tribunals directions the Delhi government will deregister diesel vehicles which will complete 10 years on January 1 2022 and issue NOC so that they can be re-registered in other placesHowever no NOC will be issued for diesel vehicles which have completed 15 years or moreThe city government is likely to give some funds received from the Centre under National Clean Air Programme NCAP to municipal corporations for the first time for management of road dust and potholes and prevent open waste burningThis is the first time Delhi has got funds under NCAP a national-level strategy for 20 to 30 per cent reduction in PM25 and PM10 concentration by 2024Delhi has been allocated Rs 1874 crore under NCAP The first instalment of Rs 11 crore was released earlier this month according Union environment ministry officialsIn 2022 Delhi will publish its first State of Environment Report which will have data on all key areas including sewage water quality waste collection and segregationThe multiplicity of departments in Delhi impedes problem resolution Had it been Nagpur or Mumbai or Chennai it would have been easier So the objective is to fix accountability on departments concerned an official said Delhi squandered the gains made in the Yamuna water quality due to the lockdown in 2020The high pollution load and resultant frothing in the river in November around Chhath attracted global condemnationThe Delhi government deployed 15 boats to remove toxic froth at Kalindi Kunj banks where people gathered for Chhath despite restrictions Bamboo structures were installed and water sprayed from tankers to dissipate the foam As the administration faced flak for these cover-up measures officials admitted that the problem of frothing a sign hazardous water quality will continue unless sewage treatment plants STPs and common effluent treatment plants in Delhi are upgraded to meet the new standards and all unauthorized colonies are connected to the sewer networkOn an average 24 out of the 35 STPs in Delhi did not meet prescribed standards for wastewater over the last one year government data statedDelhi generates around 720 million gallons of wastewater a day The 35 STPs at 20 locations can treat up to 597 MGD and have been utilising around 90 percent of their capacityChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced a 6-point action plan to clean Yamuna and constituted a cell to improve co-ordination among agencies involved in cleaning the riverHe said he will deliver on the promise he made before the 2019 assembly elections to clean the rivers Delhi stretch PTI GVS ANB ANB
