Kejriwal unveils plan to combat winter pollution

NEW DELHI: The national capital has drawn up an action plan to tackle the severe air pollution in the winter months, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday, announcing alternatives to stubble burning, measures to control road dust and vehicular emissions, and urging governments of neighbouring National Capital Region (NCR) states to adopt similar steps.

As part of its 10-point plan, the Delhi government will help spraying a bio-decomposer -developed by Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR -also known as Pusa Institute) -which converts paddy stubble into manure without burning, in rural areas in the Capital. The burning of farm residue in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh ahead of sowing the winter crop releases large amounts of smoke, leading to an annual air emergency in the NCR. Kejriwal said these states must use the bio-decomposer as well.

Except November, December and January, Delhi’s air quality is usually under control, Kejriwal said. “But this will change in a few days because the Centre and the neighbouring state governments have not done anything to prevent stubble burning in the region,” he added. “This will lead to Delhi’s air quality deteriorating in the coming days.”

Besides steps to prevent stubble burning, authorities in Delhi will ensure dust from construction sites is kept to a minimum. There will be increased vigilance to keep vehicular emissions in check, the CM said.

The action plan details steps such as forming pollution monitoring teams and increased checks at hot spots. The government has formed 75 teams to ensure dust control at construction sites, 250 teams to prevent open burning of waste and leaves, and nearly 500 teams to ensure all vehicles comply with pollution under control rules. No diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years will be allowed to ply.

The action plan has also identified 64 congestion-prone stretches in the Capital, where long traffic snarls resulted in a spike in pollution levels.

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai early last month promised the city will have a detailed winter action plan. To formulate it, multiple agencies such as the municipal corporations, the public works department, and Delhi traffic police, were asked to submit their proposals to manage air pollution. The winter action plan will

be implemented in tandem with the Supreme Court-mandated Graded Response Action Plan (Grap).

“The Grap measures will be enforced strictly this season across Delhi NCR. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) will be the overarching body that will monitor the situation and will call in the measures listed under the Grap,” Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav said.

Delhi is on the right track in its strategy to control air pollution, but it needs concerted efforts to show results, an expert said.

“In addition to the sources that the winter action plan tackles, the government should also ensure that Delhi’s urban poor have access to alternatives to using biomass for their space heating requirements,” said Tanushree Ganguly, programme lead at Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a think tank. “One way could be through the creation of clean and warm night shelters.”

“Given that Delhi now has a functional decision support system to pinpoint sources of pollution, the government should ensure that insights provided by it are used to plan and roll out actions in advance to prevent severe air quality levels in the city,” Ganguly said.

Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), said that such focus on pollution will help Delhi bring down winter season emissions but there needs to be yearlong action for noteworthy results. “The focus areas that the government has laid out are on-point, but we have discussed this before that Delhi needs action. We will have to ensure that not only do agencies in Delhi work but even other states in the region work together to find a lasting solution for the pollution problems,” Roychowdhury said.

Air pollution has been a stubborn crisis for the Capital and adjoining areas. Meteorological parameters typical for pre-winter months, when wind speed slows down and colder, heavier air drifts settles closer to ground-level, stops tailpipe emissions, road and construction dust, and industrial gases from dispersing.

To add to it, smoke from farm fires in Punjab and Haryana catches the north-westerly winds to reach Delhi and other NCR towns, where they push the air quality index into dangerous levels.

AIR POLLUTION HAS BEEN A STUBBORN CRISIS FOR THE CAPITAL AND ADJOINING AREAS. TO ADD TO IT, SMOKE FROM FARM FIRES REACHES DELHI AND OTHER NCR TOWNS