AAP leader Gopal Rai seeks plan to fulfill green commitment
NEW DELHI: Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday held a meeting with all senior officials of his department, asking them to chalk out a plan to fulfill the environment guarantees as promised by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to the people. Addressing media persons later in the day, Rai said that his ministry has already scaled up the target of the plantation drive across the city to 40 lakh. To mobilise a mass movement with an aim to safeguard the environment, a mega-conference is also being organised on February 27, the minister said.
A brain storming session, featuring environmental experts, NGOs, officials and other stake holders, will be organised at the Major Dhyanchand stadium in the Capital during which a plan will be drawn up to mobilise a mass movement. Rai said that as part of a four-pronged strategy to deal with environmental concerns, the Delhi government has tied up with Washington University for obtaining real-time data on pollution. The varsity will release its final report in March, which will help the government monitor the sources of pollution.
“Obtaining real time data is necessary to monitor the sources of pollution at a given point of time. Till such time we can gather relevant information on the sources of pollution, we will not be able to devise a mechanism to reduce them. There is simply no generalised way of fighting or eradicating pollution,” Rai said. The minister said the government has had to face opposition from a section of people when it came to implementing the ‘Odd-Even’ vehicle rationing rule, as they felt that vehicular pollution does not contribute majorly to air pollution in the national capital. However, the perception and mindset has since changed, he said.
With respect to cleaning the Yamuna, the minister said he will visit a sewage treatment plant at Delhi Gate, which is to be involved in the process, to oversee its functioning. A clean Yamuna was one of the ’10 Guarantees’ that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) gave to the people during the campaign phase for the Assembly elections.