A meeting set to be presided over by Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave here on Friday could be the first step towards an integrated, pan-north India action plan towards mitigating air pollution, especially during the winter.
With the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) noting that the Capital was confronting the worst smog situation in the last 17 years, Mr. Dave directed his Ministry to meet secretaries of States constituting the National Capital Region (NCR).
Advisory expected soon
This will be followed by deliberations with all State Environment Ministers and other stakeholders, including NGOs. According to the Union Minister, deliberations and consultations with State government representatives and stakeholders will help bring out a comprehensive advisory that will be issued later even as he stressed on collective effort to tackle the problem.
Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain, who wrote to Mr. Dave on Thursday, has requested strict action against crop burning in Punjab and Haryana.
“The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is of the considered opinion that a pan-NCR plan is the only way forward in relation to effectively combating air quality concerns in Delhi,” said a senior government official.
“The CPCB has not only assured the Delhi government that it is in favour of an integrated approach, but also that its misgivings about crop burning and construction or industrial activities in other States will be part of core recommendations at the meeting,” the official added.
In his letter, Mr. Hussain has also requested the Centre to place restrictions on plying of diesel taxis and autorickshaws in the NCR, particularly at the entry points along the Delhi border, apart from stricter enforcement of guidelines to prohibit entry of overloaded and polluting transit trucks into the Capital.
Sources in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government said Friday’s meeting would hopefully form the foundation of a pan-NCR roadmap that will rely on restrictions on crop burning in Haryana and Punjab, besides controlling construction and industrial activities in adjacent Noida and Gurgaon — issues the AAP government has identified as significant contributors to the ‘severe’ ambient air quality of the Capital.
