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AAP leader Gopal Rai on Sunday challenged new Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa to take Delhi's pollution control efforts to the next level and urged the current BJP government to increase the tally to 309 days of clean air.
The former Delhi Environment Minister Rai proudly pointed out that during his tenure, Delhi saw 109 days of clean air in 2016, which increased to 209 days in subsequent years. He attributed this improvement to his government's efforts to reduce pollution in the city and urged Sirsa to strive for 309 days of clean air, emphasising the need for a solid strategy to achieve this goal. "We gave 109 'achhe din' out of 365 days in 2016 and today due to our work, people had 209 'achhe din' further... We reduced the pollution in Delhi... The present Environmental Minister must work to take the tally to 309 'achhe din', for which they must strategies...," said the AAP leader. He also suggested that Sirsa should focus on increasing the number of electric buses on Delhi's roads, aiming for over 2,000 buses to replace diesel-powered ones and advocated for a unified approach among the governments of Delhi and neighboring states to phase out diesel buses and promote electric buses throughout the National Capital Region (NCR). Additionally, Rai highlighted his government's achievement in increasing Delhi's green belt from 20% to 23.6%. He encouraged Sirsa to build on this progress and aim to expand the green belt to 25%. "We ran 2000 electric buses in Delhi despite BJP being in power in the Centre, now over 2000 electric buses must come on roads... All the governments of Delhi and nearby states should stop diesel buses and run electric buses in the entire Delhi NCR... We increased the green belt from 20% to 23.6%, and we want the new minister to work to increase this to 25%," he added. To combat air pollution in the national capital, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa announced the new fuel restriction for vehicles older than 15 years after a meeting with officials here on Saturday. The Minister for Environment, Forest, and Wildlife also said that a special team would be formed to identify and restrict the movement of such vehicles in and out of the city. He added that Delhi Airport, high-rise buildings, large office complexes, and hotels would be required to install anti-smog guns to help control pollution. "After March 31, fuel will not be provided to vehicles older than 15 years. There are some big hotels, office complexes, the Delhi airport, and construction sites in Delhi. We are going to make it mandatory for all of them to immediately install anti-smog guns to control pollution at their places. We are going to make it mandatory for all the high-rise buildings in Delhi to install smog guns. We are going to make it mandatory for all the hotels in Delhi to install smog guns," Sirsa told reporters. The Delhi government is also exploring artificial rain through cloud seeding as an additional measure to reduce pollution. "We are going to make it mandatory for all the commercial complexes...We have decided today that we will take whatever permission we need for cloud seeding, and we will ensure that when there is severe pollution in Delhi, rain can be caused through cloud seeding, and pollution can be controlled," Sirsa added. Air quality in the national capital and surrounding areas typically worsens with the onset of winter, prompting authorities to take urgent action. (ANI)
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