Rai unveils anti-pollution Winter Action Plan for Delhi

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday unveiled the state government’s anti-pollution Winter Action Plan (WAP) with measures like air quality monitoring at hotspots through drones, a campaign to curb dust, new anti-pollution task forces, and other ways to combat the rise in pollution during the cold season.

Rai said for the first time pollution would be monitored by drones at hotspots while a six-member special task force would be formed to implement the anti-pollution measures.

He credited the ten historic steps taken by the Delhi government for air pollution level in the national capital coming down by 34.6 per cent.

Beginning in November, mobile anti-smog guns will be deployed on roads in three shifts, Rai added.

As part of the plan, Odd-Even and artificial rain have been kept on standby as emergency measures, while work from home will be encouraged during the rise in pollution levels, the minister added.

Rai informed that a letter has been written to the Union Environment Minister to convene a meeting of all relevant departments to discuss artificial rain.

According to the minister, 360 teams have been formed to control pollution caused by vehicles, and will also monitor construction sites, while 588 teams will be formed to stop burning garbage in the open. “Advanced Green War Room will be created and the city’s residents will also be able to complain on the Green Delhi App,” he added.

Declaring that Delhi is fully prepared to tackle the winter pollution, he said this time, free spraying of bio-decomposer will be conducted on over 5,000 acres of farmland in Delhi.

According to the minister, all construction sites over 500 square meters must be registered on the Dust Control web portal for monitoring by the government, and for the implementation of the 14-point Dust Control rules, 523 teams will regularly inspect these sites.

Traffic Police teams will be deployed on 134 congested roads to reduce congestion, and alternate routes will be suggested to the public.

The minister said all 1,959 registered industrial units in Delhi are now powered by piped natural gas (PNG), and as per plan, 58 teams will inspect these units to ensure they are not using unauthorized and polluting fuels.

A Real-Time Source Apportionment Study regarding pollution will be conducted under the supervision of the DPCC to identify pollution sources in real-time, the minister added.

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