Air pollution can be tackled in less than four years: Kejriwal

He asks Centre to call meeting of U.P., Punjab, Haryana and Delhi CMs every month

**EDS: TWITTER IMAGE POSTED BY @AamAadmiParty ON WEDNESDAY, AUG 26, 2020** New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses a press conference via video conferencing, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)(PTI26-08-2020_000062B)

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that if all the governments work hard and make honest efforts together, then pollution caused due to stubble burning could be substantially reduced within a short period of time.

Agreeing with Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar that stubble burning is a big problem, Mr. Kejriwal disagreed with his statement that the problem cannot be solved in a short time.

“I completely agree with his views and I believe that all the State governments should come together and launch a battle against air pollution. But he also said that the problem of air pollution cannot be solved in one day and it will take a minimum of four years to solve the issue. I do not agree with this statement,” he said.

“I believe that if all the State governments come together and all the political parties work honestly by keeping aside their political bias, then we can combat the issue of air pollution in less than four years,” he said.

“Till now the Central government is only convening meetings with the Environment Ministers of the States of north India. I want to request the Union Environment Minister to call a meeting of the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi every month because this is a big issue and it can’t be managed only at the level of the Environment Ministers of these States,” the Delhi Chief Minister said.

Mr. Kejriwal said that while Indian Agricultural Research Institute (PUSA) scientists had developed a chemical that decomposes stubble and turns it into manure in Delhi, there was a factory in Karnal where stubble gets converted to compressed bio-gas (CBG) which can be used just as CNG.

In Punjab, he said, there are around seven factories which make coal and coke from stubble. People from these factories go to the fields, cut the stubble and pay the farmers on ₹500-per-acre basis. Later these companies sell the coal to NTPC.

‘Products from stubble’

“This means that from stubble we can produce coal, coke, CNG and cardboards. If the State governments of India start utilising these new technologies by which rather than burning the stubble the farmers can increase their income by selling the stubble, then it can put a halt to this problem,” he said.