The union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday replied on the issue of air pollution in the national capital.
In Rajya Sabha, Javadekar said, “In order to abate and control air pollution in Delhi NCR, we have undertaken several initiatives. A high level task force was constituted under the chairmanship of the Principal Secy to the Prime Minister. Regular review meetings have been held.”
Assuring of a complete action plan, he further said, “A comprehensive air plan for Delhi NCR has been developed identifying the timelines and implementing agencies for actions delineated. Centre has notified a graded response action plan for Delhi NCR for different levels of pollution.”
The air quality in the national capital has deteriorated yet again, even after a brief respite in the last few days. With the increased impact of stubble burning in the nearby regions, Delhi witnessed a change in its air quality Tuesday evening onward. The Air Quality index recorded ‘Very poor’ on Wednesday & Thursday mornings.
Due to high moisture content and unfavorable climate conditions, Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index recorded ‘poor’ on Monday and Tuesday. It further went down to ‘Very poor’ on Wednesday and Thursday. The weather department has forecast shallow to moderate fog and wind speed of 6-8 Km per hour for the next few days.
Earlier, the top officials of Punjab, Haryana, New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh were roasted by the Apex Court for failing to control wave of pollution that gripped several parts of Northern India. The court also issued a directive to the Centre to quickly come up with findings and report to the Court by December 3.