PMO, civic bodies meet to discuss NCR air pollution
The principal secretary to the Prime Minister will chair a meeting of all urban local bodies in the region, pollution control boards and other stakeholders such as the CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management) under the ambit of the “high-level task force for management of air pollution in Delhi-NCR”, a senior official privy to the development said.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is expected to hold a high-level meeting on Friday to review the preparedness of agencies in Delhi-NCR for management of air pollution in the winter season, officials familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
The principal secretary to the Prime Minister will chair a meeting of all urban local bodies in the region, pollution control boards and other stakeholders such as the CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management) under the ambit of the “high-level task force for management of air pollution in Delhi-NCR”, a senior official privy to the development said.
Civic bodies from Delhi, Faridabad, Gurugram, Noida, Greater Noida, Sonepat and Ghaziabad will be participating in the exercise and the PMO will be reviewing the progress of all civic bodies in terms of municipal waste management, dumpsite remediation, construction waste, mechanical road sweeping, waste burning, among other factors linked to pollution in Delhi’s winter air.
The meeting comes just three days after Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav convened a meeting with the environment ministers of NCR states as well as Punjab to review pollution mitigation steps. This is first winter pollution season in which the modified GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) is being implemented across the national capital territory region. GRAP prescribes a list of curbs when air pollution levels in Delhi hit certain trigger points. The restrictions get stricter as the AQI worsens.
The updated plan, released by the CAQM on July 13, takes into account the air quality index (AQI) and not just PM2.5 and PM10 as triggers for the curbs. On Thursday, Delhi’s air quality was in the moderate category, with the AQI hovering around 130, and it is likely to deteriorate to the poor category by Saturday (October 15).
A senior official from the MCD said the corporation has prepared its own air pollution and waste management action plan, which will be presented in the meeting.
“In terms of waste processing, MCD currently processes 56.57% of the 11,000 tons daily waste generation. We plan to raise the processing level to 75% by November, 81% in 2023 and 100% in 2025,” the official added.
The MCD has proposed 15 upcoming municipal waste processing facilities with a cumulative capacity to handle 6,075 tons of waste, out of which a 2,000TPD plant in Tehkhand is likely to be operationalised this month. In terms of construction waste management, the MCD currently has a shortfall of 1,300 tons per day of debris that is dumped without processing and the corporation has submitted a deadline of February 2023 for this gap to be filled via the Jahangirpuri/Burari construction waste plant, an official said.
In terms of greening, so far this year 27 million saplings have been planted across NCR and 240.9km of roadside area was greened. In addition, 60 dust control and management cells have been set up by road owning and maintenance agencies across NCR. During a meeting on Tuesday, Delhi had argued for a collective and cohesive approach to combat air pollution in NCR and demanded a firecracker ban in all nearby states. While Delhi has a complete ban on all types of firecrackers, Haryana and UP have permitted the use of green firecrackers this Diwali. Delhi had also asked for all public transport coming into Delhi to be running only on CNG or electric engines.
