Delhi government holds environmental experts meet to fight pollution in winter

The Delhi government on Tuesday organised the ‘Environmental Experts Meet’ as part of its preparations for the action plan to fight pollution in the city during winter. The meeting with 24 organisations, along with national and global experts was held at Delhi Secretariat.

“Twenty four environmental experts from various organizations have proposed a winter action plan for 13 critical hotspots in Delhi to reduce pollution. Additionally, experts from IIT Kanpur presented a method for artificial rain during severe days. We will be hosting an all-department meeting on September 14 to discuss the winter action plan,” said Delhi Environment Minister, Gopal Rai.

The main objective of the meeting was to make the winter action plan more effective with the suggestions given by the experts.

A separate winter action plan for critical hotspots will help in tackling different causes of pollution comprehensively. It is very satisfactory that the number of severe days during winter has been reduced from 33 to 6, but it should reduce further, Gopal Rai said.

Instructions have been given to Kanpur IIT to prepare a detailed presentation keeping in mind all the aspects of artificial rain in Delhi, which will be presented to the CM Arvind Kejriwal, he added.

“On September 14, a joint meeting will be held with all 28 departments. Based on the key points outlined in the winter action plan, specific responsibilities will be given to various departments during the meeting,” Gopal Rai concluded.

CAUSES OF POLLUTION

Biomass burning is one of the major causes of pollution in Delhi, as per a report by Real Time Apportionment Studies. The stubble burning takes place within 15 days, and the Delhi government is working with the neighboring states on the matter.

“The local biomass burning needs sincere attention and we will conduct a meeting with local security guard companies, because it’s been noticed that during winters security guards stoke bonfires. The DPCC (Delhi Pollution Control Committee) team will continuously monitor the hotspot,” the environment minister said.

Gopal Rai had earlier claimed that the PM10 and PM2.5 levels have declined by an average of 45 per cent in Delhi in the last nine years.

“A 42% reduction was registered in PM10 pollution from 2014 till August 2023 and 46% reduction in pollution in PM 2.5 for the same time period,” he said.