NEW DELHI: A PMO-led panel has directed implementing agencies and National Capital Region (NCR) states to step up anti-pollution measures for an immediate impact on air quality, according to officials.
The high-level task force led by the principal secretary to the PM held a meeting on Thursday to reason for deterioration of air quality in the last week of October, the situation in the run-up to Diwali and till mid-November.
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Secretaries of central ministries concerned, Delhi’s chief secretary, Central Pollution Control Board chairman, senior officers of Punjab and Haryana, and municipal commissioners of Delhi attended the meeting, a Delhi government official who attended the meeting said.
“After assessing the overall situation, particularly since crop burning incidents in Punjab and Haryana are being reported in significant numbers, the principal secretary to the prime minister issued a number of directions to intensify action being taken on the ground up to mid November so that there is immediate impact on air quality,” he said.
(With agency inputs)