New Delhi: On Wednesday, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai released the Delhi Winter Action Plan for dealing with air pollutants in the capital during the cold months. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, which came into power in February 2020, presented an elaborate 21-point plan of dealing with pollution that included sheer measures like the Work from Home concept for offices and even the aspect of artificial rain.
“This year’s theme is ‘Mil Kar Chale, Pradushan Se Lade’ (Let’s Unite to Fight Pollution),” Rai said, adding that efforts to work on the plan will commence today. As part of early strategies of this initiative, high pollution zones in Delhi will be scanned with live drones. These drones will be used to locate the locations of pollution in particular sectors so that prompt action can be taken. In such places, the use of anti-smog will thereby increase more than before, besides road sweeping machines to minimize dust pollution.
Besides, there will be no use of firecrackers in Delhi, following the tradition of the Delhi government implementing an annual ban on them that goes into effect right after issuing a notice. The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) will also be implemented in order to control the level of pollution experienced at certain periods of the day. To reduce emissions still even more, 588 teams have been created to put a stop to the open burning of garbage, which contributes to pollutants.
The minister also pointed out that during extreme pollution, people will be asked to work from home, organizations will be encouraged not to come to work, and people will be encouraged to avoid using their own transport for personal errands. During conditions of high pollution, measures like the odd-even vehicle scheme already employed previously might be reintroduced.
This situation has led to set up discussions about artificial rain between 1-15 November to help Delhi alleviate AQI during Diwali celebrations and stubble burning. A special six-member task force would immediately go on air to monitor pollution levels and take appropriate measures whenever called upon to do so.
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