Delhi CM announces winter action plan to curb pollution

October 3, 2023: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on September 29, 2023, announced a 15-point winter action plan to curb pollution, media reports mentioned. At a press conference, the CM said that the number of days witnessing severe pollution levels declined in the last eight years owing to several government initiatives, such as the introduction of electric buses and the EV Policy, among others. The CM has urged people to download the Green Delhi Mobile Application and report any pollution-causing activity.

Various measures by Delhi government to curb pollution

Tackling pollution due to stubble burning

The CM further said that the Pusa Biodecomposer that prevents stubble burning will be sprayed on 5,000 hectare of farmland this year against 4,400 hectare last year. The Pusa Biodecomposer, developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), is a microbial solution that can transform paddy straw into manure in 15-20 days.

He said that burning garbage in the open is banned in Delhi and 611 teams will monitor its implementation.

Construction regulations

The government has introduced a web portal registration requirement for any construction exceeding 500 square metre (sqm). Anti-smog guns are required for areas exceeding this size to maintain dust-free roads.

The government is planning to deploy 530 water sprinklers to prevent dust pollution and 385 teams will check vehicles’ pollution certificates and prevent the plying of overage cars.

Green cover

The CM highlighted that there has been a 23% growth in the number of trees in the city, making Delhi the highest green cover in India. The government has plans for tree transportation, which includes planting one crore trees, with 52 lakh of them planted directly by the Delhi government.

Clean energy

As the city is focusing on clean energy, there are no thermal power plants. This has resulted in an uninterrupted 24-hour power supply and reduced reliance on generators, thus curbing pollution.

Firecrackers

The CM reiterated the prohibition of firecrackers to reduce air pollution during the festive season.

Vehicle pollution control

The government plans to introduce 800 electric buses to boost the existing fleet of 7,000 government-operated buses.

In 2018, the Supreme Court imposed a ban on diesel and petrol vehicles older than 10 and 15 years, respectively, in the city. It had added that the vehicles plying in violation of the order would be impounded. A 2014 order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) prohibits vehicles older than 15 years to be parked in public places.

Delhi to implement GRAP

Effective October 1, 2023, Delhi has implemented the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), in view of the possibility of an increase in pollution in winter, the environment minister Gopal Rai made the announcement as stated in media reports. The GRAP includes a set of anti-air pollution measures implemented in Delhi-NCR during the winter season. It engages different stakeholders and authorities and includes coordination among 13 different agencies in Delhi and NCR areas in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a statutory body entrusted with improving the air quality in Delhi and its adjoining areas, made changes to the GRAP last year and again in July. The new changes entail strict restrictions on the plying of obsolete vehicles and a complete ban on the use of coal and firewood in eateries, restaurants and hotels when the Air Quality Index (AQI) crosses the 200 mark.

Under the new plan, BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers will be banned, with immediate effect, in Delhi and Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar if the AQI crosses the 400 mark.

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Harini Balasubramanian

Harini is a content management professional with over 12 years of experience. She has contributed articles for various domains, including real estate, finance, health and travel insurance and e-governance. She has in-depth experience in writing well-researched articles on property trends, infrastructure, taxation, real estate projects and related topics. A Bachelor of Science with Honours in Physics, Harini prefers reading motivational books and keeping abreast of the latest developments in the real estate sector.