Arvind Kejriwal reveals 15-point plan to fight air pollution ahead of winters

Every year, air pollution in Delhi rises as winter sets in. The matter has even been raised in the Supreme Court in the past.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday revealed a 15-point action plan to curb the air pollution in the city. "The winter is set to arrive. And we often see that the pollution rises when the winter sets in. The two-crore plus population and our government have worked very hard to reduce the air pollution in Delhi over the last several years. As a result, a report by the NCAP (National Clean Air Programme) highlights that the pollution in the city has reduced significantly in 2021-22 as compared to four years ago," Kejriwal said, adding that PM10 level has come down by 18.6 per cent. Among the steps that helped was reducing power cuts, which brought down the usage of generators, the chief minister highlighted. Increasing the green cover, electric vehicle policy, and encouraging the use of public transport are other measures that helped.

Air pollution - as winter sets in - remains  a major concern in Delhi. (File)  (PTI)

Here is the 15-point plan he revealed on Friday:

1) Air pollution due to stubble burning remains a top concern at this time of the year. A bio-decomposer - prepared by the PUSA Institute - would be given for free to farmers. This would be an alternative to burning the stubble. “This time, we would try that no farmer would have to burn the stubble," Kejriwal said.

2) An anti-dust campaign will start from October 6. Active monitoring will be done by 586 teams. "Wherever there is construction area of more than 5,000 sq feet, anti-smog guns are now mandatory there," Kejriwal said, adding that the city would have 233 anti-smog guns in total.

3) For vehicular pollution, around 380 teams have been formed to check enforcement of the PUC (Pollution Under Control Certificate) policy. Around 203 routes - often congested- have been identified, the CM said, stressing that there would be efforts to keep these routes de-congested.

4) Nobody would be allowed to burn garbage in open. More than 600 teams have been formed for this, Kejriwal underlined.

5) Industrial units would use piped natural gas. Thirty-three teams have been formed to enforce this.

6) A ban continues to remain on crackers like every year. Production, purchase of crackers would be restricted and over 200 teams would oversee this, the chief minister stressed.

7) Along with IIT-Kanpur, data is being collected on likely causes for pollution in Delhi. A super site has been formed.

8) About 8,500 Paryavan Mitras have been inducted so far to volunteer. 8448441758 is the mobile number on which missed call can be given for volunteering, Kejriwak urged.

9) An e-waste park is being made to dispose electronic waste.

10) To increase green cover, the government had set a target to plant 42 lakh trees. The project to transplant remaining 9 lakh

11) A 24*7 green war room would be functional from October 3 where a nine member expert team would be undertaking constant analysis to give a plan for next day.

12) "We had made a green Delhi app about two years ago. So far, 53,000 complaints have been received. I would encourage you to continue sharing feedback on this," the chief minister said.

13) Thirteen hotspots have been identified where strict supervision would be carried out .

14) GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) would be followed as always, the chief minister said.

15) The chief minister also urged the neighbouring states to make sure that most vehicles coming from outside are CNG vehicles, and for curbing the use of generators among other steps.