Winter is Coming: The new and improved plan to battle air pollution in Delhi
Winter is Coming: The new and improved plan to battle air pollution in Delhi
With air pollution choking Delhi every winter, the Arvind Kejriwal-led government has launched a new action plan to tackle the problem.
Under the 15-point ‘winter action plan’, a Green War Room has been set up to monitor air pollution 24X7. Launched by Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai today (3 October), the war room will ensure the effective implementation of the action plan.
It will comprise a 12-member team of environmental scientists, ‘green fellows’ and trainee engineers, as per News18.
“We have launched an advanced Green War Room from today and it will work round the clock. It will monitor air pollution levels 24X7 and ensure that all necessary measures are taken to curb the pollution in accordance with the amended GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan). The war room will also analyse pollution data of the city,” Rai was quoted as saying by PTI.
The environment minister said the war room will also be linked with Green Delhi App.
The development comes in the wake of the 15-point winter action plan announced by Delhi chief minister Kejriwal on Friday.
Besides the war room, what are the other steps of the ‘action plan’ that will come into effect to combat air pollution? Why does Delhi choke up every winter? Let’s have a closer look.
Anti-dust campaign
The Kejriwal government will kick-off an anti-dust campaign on 6 October under which surprise assessments will be conducted at construction sites to curb dust pollution.
As many as 586 teams have been established to keep an eye on construction sites.
Construction sites bigger than 5,000 square metres (sqm) will have to mandatorily deploy one anti-smog gun, those over 10,000 sqm have to install two such guns and for sites bigger than 20,000 sqm, four anti-smog guns are compulsory.
“If these measures are not followed by companies at construction sites, then strict action will be taken against them under the anti-dust campaign,” Rai was quoted as saying by PTI.
Moreover, 80 road sweeping machines will be used to stem pollution arising from road dust. Nearly 521 machines for water sprinkling to manage dust pollution and 150 mobile anti-smog guns will be deployed, reports Indian Express.
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