New Delhi Mar 26 PTI The Delhi government on Saturday set aside Rs 266 crore for the environment and forest sector in the Budget for the financial year 2022-23Presenting the budget in the Assembly Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said air pollution water pollution loss of biodiversity and noise pollution are serious challenges in DelhiFor the prevention of air pollution our government implemented the Ten Point - Winter Air Action Plan from October 1 2021 to February 28 2022Under this targeted actions have been taken to control stubble burning anti-dust campaign prevention of burning of garbage ban on fireworks installation of smog tower identification of more polluting sites strengthening of green war rooms e-waste park arrangements and vehicular pollution control he saidSisodia said the Delhi Government has been successful not only in the conservation of green cover of the city but also in its continuous expansionOf the seven major mega cities Delhi has the largest forest area covering about 19424 square kilometers The forest and tree cover of Delhi has increased from 2188 per cent of the total geographical area in 2019 to 2306 per cent in 2021 which is a remarkable achievement he saidThe government has developed 11 city forests in the last two years which are fulfilling an important role of a green space in the fast-growing urban concrete spaces he said PTI GVS NSD

New Delhi Feb 23 PTI Delhi on Wednesday reported 583 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 105 per cent and three deaths due to the infection according to data shared by the health departmentThe number of tests conducted a day ago stood at 55504 while 603 patients were discharged in a day the bulletin saidDelhis case tally has now increased to 1857598 and the death toll is at 26109The national capital had on Tuesday reported 498 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 096 per cent and one death A day before it logged 360 cases with the positivity rate falling below the one per cent mark for the first time since December 28On Sunday the city logged 570 cases with a positivity rate of 104 per cent and four fatalities The number of daily cases in Delhi has been on a decline after touching the record high of 28867 on January 13Delhi had recorded a positivity rate of 306 per cent on January 14 the highest during the ongoing wave of the pandemicAmid the decline in daily cases of COVID-19 in Delhi the number of patients under home isolation has also significantly fallen in the last two weeksThe number of containment zones has come down to 7067 according to figures shared by the health departmentThere are 15294 beds for Covid patients in Delhi hospitals and 241 158 per cent of them were occupiedA total of 183 Covid patients were in hospitals including 75 on oxygen support Out of these 75 patients 19 were on ventilator support PTI GVS NSD

New Delhi Nov 28 PTI Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai Monday said a ban on construction and demolition activities in the city will continue till further orders because of the high air pollution levelsThe ban on the entry of trucks barring those engaged in essential services will continue till December 7 while CNG and electric trucks will be allowed to enter Delhi he said after a review meeting with officials of the departments concernedAccording to experts low temperature and low wind speed have led to stagnant conditions and Delhis air quality is likely to remain very poor in the coming days The situation can improve if it rains as predicted by the India Meteorological Department the minister saidConsidering the situation we have decided to extend the ban on construction and demolition activities in Delhi till further orders Non-polluting construction activities such as plumbing work interior decoration electrical work and carpentry are allowed he saidRai said the governments Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign to curb vehicular pollution is being extended till December 18The Delhi government had on Thursday re-imposed the ban on construction and demolition activities following the Supreme Court order in this matterChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said the workers affected by the ban on construction activities in the national capital will be provided with a financial assistance of Rs 5000 each and his government will also compensate them for the loss of minimum wagesPhysical classes in schools colleges and other educational institutions resumed and government offices reopened from MondayThe government has also launched a special bus service to ferry its staff from government residential colonies in 14 areas in the cityThese residential colonies are -- Gulabi Bhag Mayur Vihar Phase II Motia Khan Shalimar Bagh Block A Timarpur Hari Nagar Dwarka Sector 3 Nimri Colony - Ashok Vihar Rohini Sector 11 Karkardooma Model Town Phase I Vikas Puri Paschim Vihar and Vasant KunjRai said the campaign against open burning of garbage in Delhi will continueSo far 8480 sites have been inspected under the campaign and 1000 violations detected The violating agencies organizations and individuals have been fined Rs 2876 lakh he saidThe Transport Department and the police will continue to check pollution-under-control certificatesRai said 18 lakh pollution-under-control certificates were issued in October and November In the last two months 14000 people have been fined Rs 10000 each for not having a pollution-under-control certificate and violating the norms PTI GVS NSD

New Delhi Nov 26 PTI United Residents Joint Action URJA a consortium of over 2500 resident welfare associations RWAs in Delhi launched on Friday a citizen-driven campaign to monitor compliance and implementation of pollution-control normsRepresentatives from 13 identified hotspots of Delhi will work closely with the municipal corporations in Delhi and help report incidents of waste burning debris dumping or other violations in their areaIn 2019 the Central Pollution Control Board CPCB and Delhi Pollution Control Committee had identified Rohini Dwarka Okhla Phase-2 Punjabi Bagh Anand Vihar Vivek Vihar Wazirpur Jahangirpuri R K Puram Bawana Mundka Narela and Mayapuri as pollution hotspots in the cityThe hotspots have an annual average PM10 concentration exceeding 300 gm3 and PM25 concentration of more than 100 gm3 The CPCB safety standards are 60 gm3 and 40 gm3 for lung-damaging fine particles PM 10 and PM 25 respectivelyAccording to a report by the now-dissolved Environment Pollution Prevention and Control Authority waste burning and construction and demolition waste have been identified as key problem areas for pollution in the hotspotsAs the hotspots continue to remain polluted URJA through nominated members aims to monitor compliance and implementation by maintaining consistent contact with the deputy commissioners of the MCD zone of the hotspot and monitor violations a statement saidThe representatives will also rope in other residents through Whatsapp groups to use their mobile phones to take images and videos of incidents of garbage burning construction and demolition waste dumping fumes from industries restaurants and roadside cookingAtul Goyal president of URJA said The air pollution in these hotspots has been consistently high and there is a need to ensure implementation of the action plans of the government Residents in these hotspots are the most affected by the high levels of pollution and can be the most instrumental in changing things on the ground We need to set the Delhi governments accountability to its citizens and demand a roadmap for 12 per cent annual pollution reduction and two-third by 2025 as was committed by them during Delhi elections he added PTI GVS NSD

New Delhi Oct 25 PTI Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Monday said the city government will launch a Patakhe Nahi Diya Jalao campaign on October 27 to create awareness against firecracker burningHe said strict action will be taken under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Explosives Act against anyone found burning firecrackers Eight such cases have already been registered in the city the minister saidNo licence for selling firecrackers has been issued this year Despite the ban we have been receiving reports about the sale of firecrackers Rai told a press conferenceThe minister said stubble burning peaks around Diwali and the combination of smoke from farm fires and emissions from firecrackers can prove fatal for senior citizens and childrenHe held a meeting with officials of the Delhi Police and the environment department on Monday and decided to launch the Patkhe Nahi Diya Jalao campaign to create awareness against the burning of firecrackersThe minister said 15 teams will be formed at the district level to make people aware of the issue and monitor the sale of firecrackers Additionally all the 157 police stations in the national capital will have a two-member team for the purpose he saidThe Arvind Kejriwal government will encourage people to celebrate Diwali with diyas lamps just like the times when crackers did not exist at all Rai saidBrands publishing advertisements around Diwali should spread the message of celebrating the festival with diyas and desist from using crackers in their visuals the minister saidChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced a ban on firecrackers on September 15 saying it was essential to save livesOn September 28 the Delhi Pollution Control Committee ordered a complete ban on the sale and bursting of firecrackers in the national capital till January 1 2022Rai said The situation is extremely critical and we need to take it very seriously No matter how much the officers enforce the norms we cannot win this battle unless and until all the people of Delhi actively contribute to the fight I urge each and every person to take this campaign to every nook and corner of Delhi and make sure that no one bursts firecrackers this time he added PTI GVS NSD

New Delhi Sep 28 PTI The Delhi Pollution Control Committee DPCC on Tuesday ordered a complete ban on the sale and bursting of firecrackers in the national capital till January 1 2022Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced a ban on firecrackers on September 15 saying it was essential to save livesAccording to the DPCC order several experts have indicated a possibility of another surge of COVID-19 and largescale celebrations by bursting of firecrackers will result not only in agglomeration of people in violation of social distancing norms but also a high level of air pollution leading to serious health issues in DelhiThe bursting of firecrackers under the prevalent pandemic crisis is not favourable for the cause of larger community health given the significant relationship between air pollution and respiratory infections it saidThere will be a complete ban on bursting and sale of all kinds of firecrackers up to 112022 in the territory of NCT of Delhi the DPCCs order statedThe pollution control body has asked district magistrates and deputy commissioners of police to implement the directions and submit daily action-taken reports to it A few days ago Delhi suggested its surrounding states to shift their public transport vehicles in the National Capital Region to CNG and adopt a policy to promote electric vehicles It had also urged the neighbouring states to emulate Delhi and ban firecrackers to tackle pollutionLast year the National Green Tribunal had imposed a total ban on the sale or use of all kinds of firecrackers in the National Capital Region from November 9 midnight to November 30 midnight saying celebration by crackers is for happiness and not to celebrate deaths and diseasesHowever the city had recorded an overall air quality index of 414 which falls in the severe category the day after Diwali with people flouting the ban with impunity PTI GVS NSD