Delhi Pollution: Amid the deteriorating air quality in Delhi, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Wednesday targeted the AAP government in Punjab, saying that some states deliberately allow stubble burning to impact the capital city.
She said that the central government and National Capital Region (NCR) states are working together to tackle pollution.
What Did CM Rekha Gupta Say?
“Today, when we address the problem of pollution, we receive support from the Centre. The NCR states sit together; discussions are held on a common platform, and you can see that our neighbouring states have started taking steps to tackle stubble burning,” she said.
The Delhi CM raised questions over the willingness of some states against stubble burning.
“If some states are unwilling to act, there is little we can do about it. At times, I feel they deliberately allow stubble burning to begin so that its impact is felt in Delhi, and their spokespersons can then sit here and claim that pollution levels have increased,” Gupta said.
Delhi Is Adopting A 360-Degree Approach
Talking about a comprehensive strategy to tackle air pollution, CM Gupta said the capital city has adopted 360-degree approach that focusses on clean energy, electric mobility, solar power and biofuels.
“When we talk about solutions to a problem like pollution, we must understand that a 360-degree approach is required. One very effective alternative is clean energy, clean power and clean electric power. If we talk about biofuels today, reducing pollution requires us to provide emission-free transportation. When we talk about emission-free transportation, we are talking about electric vehicles. And once we start working towards electric vehicles, we realise that we also need to move towards solar energy and biofuels. Delhi has been consistently working on all these energy sources. We have worked on solar energy and electric vehicles, and Delhi has introduced its own EV policy,” Gupta said.
Highlighting the expansion of electric public transport, the CM said Delhi’s public transport fleet had been made fully electric, and the national capital was targeting 14,000 electric buses by 2029.
“Today, Delhi’s public transport fleet has been made 100 per cent electric. By 2029, Delhi will have 14,000 buses, all of which will be electric. This will be a landmark achievement for Delhi and will help us address the problem of pollution,” she said.
She also highlighted initiatives to tackle open burning and convert waste into energy, particularly through biogas plants that utilise cattle dung.
“Similarly, open burning is, in my opinion, one of the major sources of pollution. Therefore, while working towards biofuel energy, we have set up biogas plants to address this problem, particularly the issue of cattle dung, which was a major challenge for Delhi. Moving towards waste-to-energy solutions, we have established three major biogas plants in Delhi. We are now converting cattle dung into energy. I would particularly like to point out that the situation in the Middle East made us realise how closely energy security is linked to economic growth. When there is suddenly an energy shortage across the world, it creates serious problems,” Gupta said.
Gupta further said the Delhi government is taking steps across different sectors to reduce pollution, including plantation drives, dust mitigation and conservation of green areas. She said the city had undertaken the plantation of 70 lakh saplings and notified the Ridge area as a forest.
CM Gupta stated the Delhi government is taking multiple steps to curb the air pollution levels, claiming that the capital city’s AQI is better as compared to previous years. The Delhi CM said the government had taken several steps, including planting 70 lakh saplings, declaring Ridge area a forest.
She added that the government is also focusing on green, clean and renewable energy to further reduce pollution.
Delhi AQI
On Wednesday, the capital city woke up to hazardous air quality. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) touched 605 in the morning hours. Several air monitoring stations in Delhi continued to record ‘severe’ pollution levels in major areas.