Centre asks Punjab, Hry to stop stubble burning soon
NEW DELHI : Expecting a spike in Delhi’s air pollution in the coming days, the central government has directed Haryana and Punjab to stop stubble burning completely.
In a press briefing on Friday, environment secretary CK Mishra said the next one week is critical for Delhi’s air due to Diwali and stubble burning in neighbouring states. “We have told Punjab and Haryana to completely stop stubble burning at least for the next few critical days. Next three weeks, especially between October 26 and November 4, are critical and we are taking care,” Mishra said.
He said 13 districts have been identified as hotspots of stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana through satellite technology.
When asked whether or not the Haryana government was buying crop residue from farmers as a measure to curb burning, Mishra said only private players were doing so.
“Purchase (of stubble) is only happening in some areas by private entrepreneurs who are using it differently. NTPC, power companies are also buying. But that is not the solution. We have to push for in situ measures,” he said. He said though air quality is poor, it is not as bad as last year. “In the corresponding period last year, the air quality was severe. Now it is oscillating between poor and very poor,” he said.
The air quality in the national capital dropped to season’s worst on Friday, with the decreased wind speed leading to accumulation of pollutants and affecting dispersion.
The city’s overall air quality index (AQI) stood at 315 at 8:30 am on Friday, while it was 311 on Thursday evening.
PMO PANEL: INTENSIFY ANTI-POLLUTION MOVE
A prime minster’s office-led panel has directed implementing agencies and National Capital Region (NCR) states to intensify anti-pollution measures up to mid-November so that there is immediate impact on air quality, according to officials.
The high-level task force led by the principal secretary to the prime minister held a meeting on Thursday to analyse factors contributing to the deterioration of air quality in the last week of October, the situation in the run up to Diwali and till mid-November.
It also reviewed the measures being taken by various agencies to control dust emission in the Delhi-NCR region, a Delhi government official who attended the meeting said. Secretaries of central ministries concerned, Delhi’s chief secretary, Central Pollution Control Board chairman, senior officers of Punjab and Haryana, and municipal commissioners of Delhi attended the meeting, the official said.
“After assessing the overall situation, particularly since crop burning incidents in Punjab and Haryana are being reported in significant numbers, the principal secretary to the prime minister issued a number of directions to intensify action being taken on the ground up to mid November so that there is immediate impact on air quality,” he said. Two days before Diwali, the national capital’s air quality dropped to the season’s worst on Friday, with the decreased wind speed leading to accumulation of pollutants and affecting dispersion.