Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai rolls out five-point plan to fight pollution

NEW DELHI: Intensifying the measures to combat the rising levels of air pollution post-Diwali, Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday rolled out a five-point action plan from November 11. The plan focuses on curbing open waste burning and launching Phase 2 of the anti-dust campaign. The city’s air quality returned to the ‘severe’ zone on Tuesday, a day after remaining in the ‘very poor’ category.

As per data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi saw three consecutive ‘severe’ air quality days from November 5-8. Good wind speed helped improve air quality slightly on Monday when it was recorded in the higher end of the ‘very poor’ zone with an air quality index (AQI) reading of 390. On Tuesday, AQI again soared to ‘severe’ at AQI 404.

The Union government’s air quality forecasting system on Tuesday said that the share of smoke from stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab had reduced to 27 per cent from 30 per cent the previous day, and 48 per cent on Sunday, which was the highest so far. “The northwesterly winds that bring in the smoke have slowed down but still favourable for the transport of stubble-related pollutants to Delhi. The air quality is likely to improve but remain in ‘very poor’ category due to partially cloudy conditions and shallow mixing layer height,” it said.

The five-point plan also has measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) that includes ban on diesel generator (DG) sets and coal furnaces. “The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the police have been instructed to submit an action to shut down DG sets running in Delhi. Instructions for the increase in the frequency and reach of buses and metros have been given to the transport department,” Rai said. Also, water-sprinkling will be accelerated as 400 tankers will make rounds to reduce pollution. Spraying of bio-decomposer solution over 4,000 acres of farm fields in Delhi will be completed by November 20.