Preventive measures better than reactive ones: Environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari on pollution crisis

Speaking to ANI, Bhavreen Kandhari said, "Preventive measures are better than the reactive measures, such as what are you doing about the vehicle emissions, construction dust in the whole year. Most of the laws are on paper. Construction laws are being violated. Smog guns are not being used. The governance depends on how strong your department is. BS IV is a good move, but our car-centric approach needs to be changed... You will have to create policies that reduce the number of cars. Public transport needs to be strengthened and bus transport should be improved."

As the national capital continues to reel under adverse weather conditions due to a western disturbance, Manjinder Singh Sirsa addressed a press conference on Monday.

Sirsa said the weather in Delhi has remained "very bad" over the past few days, prompting the government to impose stringent restrictions.

"For the last four days, restrictions under GRAP-IV have been in place and we have seen good results," he said.

Warning polluting industries, Sirsa said that sealing action has begun against identified violators.

"The polluting factories we have identified will be sealed without any further notice. They have already been given several chances," he said. He added that industries which failed to apply for OCEM by the October 31 deadline would also face immediate sealing.

The minister informed that a massive drive is underway to check vehicular pollution.

"So far, 2,12,332 Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCCs) have been checked in the last four days, out of which nearly 10,000 vehicles have failed the test," he said.

Sirsa further said complaints have been received that some private companies are not fully implementing the work-from-home advisory under GRAP-IV. "If we receive complaints against any such company, strict action will be taken," he warned.

He said that deputy commissioners of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), along with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), have started sealing unauthorised industries across the city.

The minister noted that road cleaning is being carried out at night and around 35,000 metric tonnes of garbage is being removed daily from Delhi's dumps to reduce pollution levels.

On environmental restoration, Sirsa said the government is accelerating efforts to revive old water bodies with the help of the DDA and the Delhi Revenue Department. "Our target is to revive at least 50 per cent of water bodies that have been completely lost for years, despite challenges like encroachment," he said. (ANI)