From March 28 onwards, the air quality in Delhi has remained in the ‘poor’ category, with AQI remaining between 201 and 300. Pollutants are predominantly coarse particles and dust. (File Photo) The ‘summer action plan’ to mitigate air pollution from April to September will begin Tuesday with a campaign against open burning, according to Environment Minister Gopal Rai.
The campaign will last from April 12 to May 12, and ten departments will participate with 500 teams that will monitor open burning. A meeting was held Monday with representatives of municipal corporations, Delhi Development Authority, New Delhi Municipal Council, Delhi Jal Board, Forest Department, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), and Irrigation and Flood Control Department, to work out the details of the summer action plan, Rai said.
Last week, the departments were asked to prepare their action plans.
The summer action plan is being rolled out in a manner that is similar to the winter action plan that was in place last winter to deal with sources of air pollution. Controlling garbage burning had also been a part of the winter action plan.
दिल्ली को प्रदूषण मुक्त करने के लिए Summer Action Plan
2 तात्कालिक प्लान-
कल से Anti Open Burning और 15 अप्रैल से Anti Road Dust अभियान।12 दीर्घकालिक प्लान-
Mega Tree plantation, Urban Farming, झीलों का विकास, पार्कों के डेवलपमेंट समेत कई अभियान।— Aam Aadmi Party Delhi (@AAPDelhi) April 11, 2022
To mitigate instances of fires at landfill sites, a joint meeting will be held with experts from organisations like The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Centre for Science and Environment, DPCC, Delhi Technological University and IIT-Delhi, to figure out whether temporary technological fixes can be used to deal with the methane that is produced at the landfill, Rai said.
Methane is produced when organic waste that is dumped at the site decomposes. A campaign against road dust will also be launched from April 15 to May 15. A total of 78 road sweeping machines and 586 water sprinkling machines will be functional to reduce road dust. All 1,607 industries in Delhi have switched to running on PNG, Rai said. “But complaints have been received that some are not following this. From April 20, the DPCC will carry out a special drive to ensure that industries are running on PNG,” he added.
Measures for the longer term, like increasing green cover along the roadside, monitoring transplanted trees, tree plantation drives, eco-club activities in schools for awareness, maintenance of parks, promoting urban farming, and replacing single-use plastic items which are banned from July onwards, also found a mention in the action plan.
“Under the Green Delhi Start-up scheme, start-ups that are developing alternatives to single-use plastic will be given financial support,” Rai said.
An e-waste eco-park, meant to scientifically segregate and process e-waste produced in the city, will come up on around 18 acres of land at Holambi Kalan, Rai said. The e-waste park has also been incorporated into the summer action plan.
From March 28 onwards, the air quality in Delhi has remained in the ‘poor’ category, with AQI remaining between 201 and 300. Pollutants are predominantly coarse particles and dust.
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