Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Thursday said that the government will form a Special Task Force to combat pollution in the national capital, news agency PTI reported.
New Delhi: Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Thursday said that the government will form a Special Task Force to combat pollution in the national capital, news agency PTI reported. ” The current situation is such that for 2-3 days the AQI is going to remain in the ‘very poor’ category only because as per the prediction for tomorrow, the wind speed…will remain low…till wind speed increases, the AQI will stay in ‘very poor’ category”,” Delhi minister Gopal Rai told ANI.
VIDEO | “Considering the current AQI, we have formed a special task force. This task force will collaborate with 28 departments to ensure the enforcement of regulations, compile reports, and assist in monitoring pollution,” says AAP leader @AapKaGopalRai.
(Video available on PTI… pic.twitter.com/x9BuQ3IfMC
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 16, 2023
“By looking at this, a decision has been taken today that we need to monitor the implementation of GRAP-4 on the ground…for that 6-member Special Task Force has been formed, Special Secretary Environment will be in-charge of this,” the minister added.
Earlier today, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena came down heavily on the AAP governments in Punjab and Delhi, alleging that the former is playing “truant” on the issue of stubble burning and the latter involved in “over-hyped events” like the odd-even road-rationing scheme, while the national capital is gasping for breath due to alarming levels of air pollution.
Setting the stage for a fresh confrontation between the LG’s office and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) dispensation in Delhi, Saxena asserted that blaming others for the pollution problem will not help and the solution lies within the city itself.
As the air quality of Delhi fluctuated between the “very poor” and “severe” categories on Thursday because unfavourable meteorological conditions hindered the dispersion of pollutants, the LG highlighted that the problem can be mitigated by reducing the “dust that our unrepaired roads, unpaved pavements and construction sites cause” and curbing vehicular emissions.
He said Delhi can do little to stop crop-residue smoke from other states and added that “blaming others should not be an alibi for gross inaction over the years”.
Saxena also accused the Punjab government of “playing truant”.
“We can do little to stop crop residue smoke from other states, apart from pleading with them. Despite states, especially Punjab, playing truant, we are, but petitioners for mercy. AQI yet hovers around 400, making the capital gasp,” he said in a post on X.