New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday directed officials to take planned efforts to improve deteriorating air quality around Delhi-NCR. At a high-level meeting on air pollution today, CM Yogi asked authorities to appeal to urge people to opt for public transport for commuting rather than using their own vehicles. Moreover, the chief minister asked officials to request farmers to not burn stubble.
“In a high level meeting on air pollution, CM Yogi Adityanath instructed officials on the need to have planned efforts to curb pollution in NCR; encourage people to use public transport instead of private vehicles. Farmers should be contacted not to burn stubble”, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said in a statement.
This comes a day after the Supreme Court pulled up the Centre and the states, especially the Delhi government, for their failure to reign in air pollution that had reached hazardous levels last week and is now hovering around under the ‘severe’ and ‘very poor’ categories.
What Supreme Court Had Said?
Slamming the Delhi government, a bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana and also comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant told senior advocate Rahul Mehra, representing the national capital government, that ‘the Delhi government wants to accuse the farmers for stubble burning as a major contributory factor for air pollution in the capital’. It pointed out that it is an insignificant source of pollution in the city. The bench, citing the Centre’s affidavit, said stubble burning is only contributing 4 per cent to air pollution in winters.
‘Red Light On, Gaddi Off’ Campaign Extended by 15 Days
Meanwhile, the Delhi government has decided to extend the “Red Light On, Gaddi Off” campaign by 15 days in view of the rising pollution levels in the capital city. For the unversed, the ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ initiative — turning off a car’s engine at a red signal — was supposed to end on November 18.
Nearly 2,500 civil defence volunteers are deployed at 100 crossings to make people aware about the significance of turning off their car engine when they are waiting at the traffic signal. The volunteers are deployed from 8 am to 2 pm and 2 pm to 8 pm in two shifts.
“People are working from home but still cars are out there on the streets. While driving a person, on an average, crosses 10-12 crossings and for 30 minutes, fuel burning happens without any reason. We can take steps to reduce this,” the minister added.
Delhi-NCR Continues to Reel Under Poor Air Quality
Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘very poor’ category for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, with the air quality index being recorded at 396. The air quality index in neighbouring cities stood as follows — Ghaziabad (349), Greater Noida (359), Gurgaon (363) and Noida (382) — in the morning. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.