Delhi environment minister wants meeting with all states

ON TUESDAY, THE WHO HAD TAGGED DELHI AS THE MOST POLLUTED CITY IN THE WORLD

NEW DELHI: Delhi environment minister Imran Hussain has written a letter to the Union government requesting a meeting of all member states of the National Capital Region to discuss multiplicity of agencies, a reason he believed was the biggest challenge in enforcing measures to fight pollution.

“...due to the multitude of agencies like Delhi Development Authority, municipal corporations, New Delhi Municipal Council and Delhi Cantonment Board involved in pollution control efforts, the air pollution situation is further aggravating,” Hussain wrote in his letter.

Experts, however, said that multiplicity was always a problem and the government has to learn to work with all agencies.

“Passing the buck will not solve anything. The government has to learn to work with various agencies at the same time,” said Sunita Narain, member of the Supreme Court mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority.

Hussain’s letter comes a day after the WHO tagged Delhi as the most polluted megacity in the world. In 2016 too, Delhi had topped the list of most polluted cities in the world. Hussain, in his letter, has requested the Union environment Harsh Vardhan to convene a meeting with all NCR states to resolve some issues, including stubble burning.

“Pollution in Delhi is often aggravated by lack of coordination among agencies. The civic bodies and discoms have been urged not to issue license or connections to industries outside industrial areas,” said an official of DPCC.

Experts, however, said that due to several anti-pollution measures taken up since 2016 when Delhi encountered one of the worst smogs in 17 years, the situation was improving.

“AQI data shows that the situation has improved in 2017 when compared to 2016. A slew of measures have been initiated and we just need to gather momentum,” said Anumita Roychowdhury executive director, Centre for Science and Environment.

In a second letter to Harshvardhan, Delhi’s environment minister has also raised the issue of landfill sites, which have been proposed on the floodplains of the Yamuna.

“The site identified by Delhi Development Authority in Sonia Vihar for dumping of waste can cause grave environmental problems…the selected site falls in the floodplain area of River Yamuna. There is a danger of contamination of underground aquifer making the water unfit for consumption,” Hussain wrote.