The Delhi cabinet on Friday sanctioned Rs 20 crore for the installation of a first-of-its-kind smog tower at Connaught Place in the national capital to curb air pollution. The installation work will be completed within the next 10 months.
"We are calling it a pilot project for now, and if it is successful, many more smog towers will be installed across Delhi," said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Once installed, the smog tower will be the second such tower in the world after the one in China.
Incidentally, two smog towers are being installed in Delhi -- one by the Central government at Anand Vihar, and the second one by the Delhi government at Connaught Place.
"The technology being used by the Delhi government is different from the technology used in China. In China, the smog tower sucks polluted air from down below and releases clean air from above. Our smog tower will suck polluted air from above, and release the clean air from the bottom," Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal on Friday also launched a tree transplantation policy under the 'Yuddh, Pradushan Ke Viruddh' campaign, which requires a minimum of 80 per cent of the trees affected by construction or development projects to be transplanted.
He said it is the responsibility of the agencies responsible for transplantation to ensure that 80 per cent of the transplanted trees survive after a year.
"A dedicated tree transplantation cell and local committees will be formed, which will include government officials, citizens and RWAs to monitor the transplanted trees and to monitor the transplantation task," the CM said.
"Along with retaining the policy of planting 10 saplings in place of one being cut down, we can transplant the tree additionally, due to the scientific advancements which allow uprooting the tree from a particular spot, lifting it, and planting it at another spot," Kejriwal said.
The Delhi government will form a panel of agencies that excel in the task of transplantation. Whichever department wants trees to be transplanted, can approach any agencies out the panel that is being formed. Payments will be made to the agencies only if 80 per cent of the trees continue to survive after a year.
--IANS
miz/arm
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU