Delhi govt asks neighbouring states to stop sending diesel buses

New Delhi
The Delhi government on Tuesday urged neighbouring states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to stop sending diesel buses to Delhi, citing increasing pollution levels in the Capital, and announced a series of measures to improve air quality.
A day after the Commission for Air Quality Monitoring (CAQM) announced the implementation of Stage 2 of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap), Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai announced the deployment of 6,200 sanitation workers, water sprinkling on the roads, extensive use of anti-smog guns in polluted areas, spraying of dust suppressants at hot spots, deploying 1,800 traffic police personnel, inspections of construction and demolition sites, adding 40 trips to routes run by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and increased bus frequency.
“Pollution level in Delhi is increasing due to the neighbouring states spread around Delhi. I request all the state governments to control pollution in their states,” Gopal Rai said. In his letter to neighbouring states, Rai said diesel buses “emit a considerable amount of harmful pollutants.”
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva hit out at the Delhi government for targeting Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. “Delhi’s weather and pollution are determined by winds from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. However, the Delhi environment minister keeps blaming Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan for political reasons,” he said.
Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav said AAP government was not taking adequate steps to check pollution. “The continuous increase in pollution in the Capital for the last 11 years clearly shows that crores of rupees are being wasted on corruption. BJP and AAP should do positive work to control pollution instead of doing politics,” said Devender Yadav.
Minister Gopal Rai made the announcements at a multi-department meeting held at the Secretariat.
“It was decided that to implement the first rule of Grap Stage 2, water sprinkling will be increased to control road dust pollution. Additionally, 6,200 additional MCD workers will be deployed to clean the road dust, and water sprinkling at various hot spots in Delhi will be increased. Dust suppressant powder will also be mixed with the water used for sprinkling at these hot spots. All MCD hot spot in-charges have been directed to begin this sprinkling from the 25th of this month,” Rai said.
Traffic police, however, said they did not receive instructions to increase deployment, but added that they have taken multiple steps to tackle pollution.
“We have deployed teams on streets to identify and seize vehicles older than 10 and 15 years and also prosecute owners/drivers of vehicles plying without pollution certificates. Commercial vehicles that are not destined for Delhi are not being allowed to enter city’s borders and they are being diverted. We are also keeping a watch on construction activities and taking actions against violators,” additional commissioner of police (traffic) Dinesh Kumar Gupta said.
Delhi recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 327 (“very poor”) on Tuesday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB’s) daily air quality 24-hour average. It worsened to 330 around 6pm, according to realtime data.
Gopal Rai stated inspections at C&D sites will be intensified. “Each team will inspect two sites daily and submit reports to the war room. Furthermore, a coordination committee led by the senior officials will visit hot spots to monitor the action plan implementation and report any issue to the war room,” the minister said.
The Delhi government asked traffic police to address congestion at 97 points across the city. “To discourage private transportation, directions have been given to NDMC and MCD to increase parking charges or explore other alternative methods. To control biomass burning, Grap Stage 2 mandates that RWA (residents’ welfare associations) provide heaters to guards and night-duty workers,” Rai said.
Elaborating on increased pollution at Anand Vihar, Rai said the major component there was vehicular emission.
“The impact of diesel emissions on air quality is well established, and the large influx of such (diesel) buses significantly contribute to the degradation of air quality in Delhi, posing serious health risks to the residents. Diesel buses emit a considerable amount of harmful pollutants responsible for respiratory diseases and other health issues,” Rai said in his letter to NCR states.