New Delhi, May 2 (Representative) Delhi government on Monday launched a Summer Action Plan focusing on 14 areas to effectively tackle pollution. Under the plan, some immediate and some long-term steps will be taken to address the issue.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in a press briefing here, said, “Under the Summer Action Plan, we will stop dust pollution, open burning and industrial pollution; implement solid waste management, real time source apportionment study, increase green cover, develop lakes and hold dialogue with neighbouring states.” To prevent dust pollution, the government is installing 84 mechanical road sweeping machines, 609 sprinklers, and 185 mobile anti-smog guns. These measures will be implemented in a coordinated manner to ensure maximum impact, said Kejriwal. The Summer Action Plan is a comprehensive set of 14 focus areas aimed at reducing air pollution levels. Providing some data, the Delhi CM highlighted that in 2016, there were 26 such days wheN the Air Quality Index (AQI) was in the ‘severe’ category, but in 2022-23 there were only 6 such days. He further added that in 2016 there were 124 days in the ‘Very Poor’ and ‘Severe’ category, and in 2022-23 these were reduced to 72 days.
He said that there were 109 days in 2016 in the Good/Satisfactory/Moderate categories and this has further increased to 163 days in 2022-23. Kejriwal, while highlighting the findings from Delhi government’s Real-Time Source Apportionment Study, revealed the distinct pollution sources in the city during winter and summer seasons. In winter, pollution stems from weather patterns, stubble burning, vehicle emissions, and open burning. Summer pollution is driven by landfill fires spurred by heat, and blazes in areas with dry foliage. The data sheds light on the complex nature of pollution and emphasises the need for targeted solutions for each season.Around 30 departments of Delhi government will work together towards effective implementation of the Summer Action Plan with some of its impacts being targeted for the short term, while others will be for the long term. Some of thee departments are Environment Department, DPCC, Development Department, Cantonment Board, CPWD, DDA, Delhi Traffic Police, DTC, Revenue Department, DSIIDC, Education Department, DMRC, PWD, Transport Department, NHAI, Delhi Jal Board and NDMC. Kejriwal said that each department has been assigned a specific task under the plan.
He also said that the smaller lanes that are under the MCD will be sprinkled with water one or two times a week to settle the dust on them. Besides this, 225 patrolling teams will be constituted to patrol the city during the day and there will be 159 such teams that will patrol the streets at night and they will be in-charge of identifying any other source of pollution in the national capital. He also said that 13 hotspots have been identified and using Real-Time Source Apportionment Study the key sources of pollution in these areas will be identified and solutions to curb them will be found.CM also said that under the new law any construction site that is greater than 500 square meters has to register with the state government. He added that so far 750 such sites have registered with the government and these sites are being closely monitored. To stop the practice of open burning of garbage, 220 patrolling units have been formed to monitor Delhi during the day time and 176 such teams will patrol during the night and an SOP has been drafted to stop the fires in landfills and this will be implemented to ensure that there are no fires in landfills this summer season, said Kejriwal.