NEW DELHI: In order to tackle pollution in an accurate manner, the government on Monday started real-time source apportionment ‘supersite’. Aiming to identify pollution sources on an hourly-basis and forecast hourly-data, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated a supersite and Mobile Air Quality Monitoring Station at SBV Rouse Avenue on Monday.
Kejriwal said, “Now, we will be able to tackle pollution in a more accurate manner. We can know about pollution sources such as vehicles, industries and biomass burning in any area. Real-time pollution analysis shows that outer-state pollution accounts for one-third of Delhi’s pollution, while biomass accounts for one-fourth and vehicles account for 17-18 percent.” He cited how steps to tackle pollution were based on years-old studies and said, “Those have no relevance. The real-time apportionment study has shown that the sources of pollution change on an hourly basis,” he said.
The government launched the EV Policy to reduce pollution, bought thousands of new e-buses, increased green cover to 23.6 percent, and ran the ‘Red Light On Gaadi Off’ campaign. Due to the steps taken, pollution levels were the lowest this year as compared to the last five years, he said.
Kejriwal said, “We planned the EV Policy and within a few years, Delhi sold the most number of electric vehicles in the country. We have even exceeded the targets that we had set for the state government. In public transportation, the Delhi Metro was there earlier as well, but the number of buses was inadequate. We have increased the number of buses plying in Delhi and by 2025, we hope to have 10,000 buses in the national capital.”
The government also brought in the Tree Transplantation Policy and ensured that it was implemented on a large scale. The forest cover of Delhi has increased to 23.6 percent, the chief minister added.
He added, “Whenever the need for it arises, the Graded Rapid Action Plan (GRAP) was implemented in the city and because of this, the city recorded only three ‘severe’ category days based on the AQI.”
Kejriwal said the real-time data showed that at 8 am, pollution due to outside sources and vehicular pollution was at 35 per cent each while biomass burning was 29 per cent. At 10 am, pollution due to outside sources declined to 29 per cent, biomass burning to zero per cent and vehicular pollution to 35 per cent.
“Biomass burning sees a rise during winters. Security guards, drivers resort to burning biomass in order to keep themselves warm. This increases during the winter months,” he said.
Steps taken to curb air pollution in capital
The government launched the EV Policy to reduce pollution, bought thousands of new e-buses, increased green cover to 23.6 percent, and ran the ‘Red Light On Gaadi Off’ campaign. Due to the steps taken, pollution levels were the lowest this year as compared to the last five years, the chief minister said. The government also brought in the Tree Transplantation Policy and ensured that it was implemented on a large scale. The forest cover of Delhi has increased to 23.6 percent, he added. The real-time apportionment study has shown that the sources of pollution change on an hourly basis, he said.