New Delhi: In order to control the pollution in Delhi in the upcoming winters and to enforce the Winter Action Plan, the Delhi Government on October 1, 2022 has introduced several new measures. Most prominent among the measures is that consumers will not be able to buy fuel in Delhi without valid ‘Pollution Under Control’ certificates (PUCs) from October 25, 2022.
Environment Minister Gopal Rai informed, "From October 25, valid PUC will be mandatory for buying petrol and diesel at all pumps, Environment Department will issue its notification soon. The Green War Room will be launched on October 3, 2022 to implement Winter Action Plan. An anti-dust campaign will be started in Delhi from October 6, 2022. We will start free spraying of Pusa bio-decomposer to prevent stubble burning from October 10. Delhi Government will strictly implement GRAP. However, a joint action plan should be made for all NCR states."
He further informed that in Delhi, a 15-point action plan has been prepared against pollution, which will be implemented with strictness. “CAQM has issued the modified GRAP system and the Delhi Government has decided to implement it strictly. It should also be implemented in a similar manner across the entire NCR. We are now in a position to take action three days prior to deterioration of air level on the basis of forecast. All the departments will come into action swiftly because the change in pollution level in the winter season could be forecasted to an extent, but the rain and wind direction also has an important role to play,” said he.
Talking about the implementation of the Winter Action Plan, Gopal Rai also said that because GRAP system isn’t implemented efficiently across Delhi NCR, it is important to have public corporation this time. He says that the war room will remain operational 24x7 and the citizen’s involvement will be increased through the ‘Green Delhi’ app.
According to Environment Minister Gopal Rai, the anti-dust campaign will begin on the October 6, 2022. All the rules and regulations prepared under the GRAP system have been sent to all the departments. The private agencies and construction companies need to comply with the two new measures brought this year, along with the measures which are already in force. All the construction sites with an area greater than 5 hundred sq metres need to mandatorily register themselves on the web portal developed by the Environment Department. If they show any negligence in registration, they will be shut down in case the AQI level increases as per the GRAP system.
Gopal Rai further tells, “Second, earlier, the sites with an area over 20 thousand sq metres were required to install an anti-smog gun. Now the construction sites sized between 5 thousand sq metres to 10 thousand sq metres are required to have one anti-smog guns. Construction sites sized between 10 thousand sq metres to 15 thousand sq metres are required to have two anti-smog guns and sites having a size between 15 thousand sq metres and 20 thousand sq metres need to have three anti-smog guns. Construction sites with an area greater than 20 thousand sq metres are required to have four anti-smog guns.”
Bio-decomposer will also be sprinkled to decompose the stubble and avoid stubble burning from October 10, 2022. “I am appealing to the farmers, especially the ones who have fields on the Delhi-Haryana border in the Narela, Bhawana and Mundka area, that there were reports of stubble burning in those areas last year. They should use bio-decomposers to decompose the stubble. We have also alerted the Revenue Department to ensure that no one burns the stubble this year,” says Gopal Rai.
