The LG said that Delhi had taken several measures to address local causes of air pollution, including end-to-end carpeting and greening of pavements to prevent dust pollution, banning construction activities and using water sprinklers, anti-smog guns during the peak of the problem in winters
Delhi LG VK Saxena on Tuesday raised the issue of air pollution in the national capital caused by stubble burning in neighbouring states at the north zonal council meeting and urged them to work in tandem to address the issue, Raj Niwas officials said.
The discussions at the meeting held in Amritsar were dominated by the issue of pollution including crop stubble (parali) burning that chokes Delhi during winters, they said.
The LG, who represented the national capital at the inter-state forum headed by the Union Home Minister, requested all neighbouring states to work in tandem to address the issue of parali burning, they said.
"He brought out the fact that even after the issue being flagged and discussed in the last zonal council meeting at Jaipur in 2022, it remained unaddressed, especially on the part of Punjab," officials said.
Saxena said that while Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, which is not a part of NZC, had undertaken substantial efforts to address the menace, Delhi suffered "acute air pollution" due to the smoke emanating from Punjab despite his letter to the state chief minister on November 4, 2022, they said.
The LG said in the meeting that Delhi had taken several measures to address local causes of air pollution, including end-to-end carpeting and greening of pavements to prevent dust pollution, banning construction activities and using water sprinklers, anti-smog guns during the peak of the problem in winters.
He also said 500 electric buses were included in the public transport system and more were on the way.
He strongly urged the neighbouring states to use technology interventions to contain air pollution at the source itself, the officials said.
Saxena cited preparatory works related to infrastructure upgrade, security, and beautification of the national capital for the recently held G20 Summit, and added that its template could be used by other states and Union territories, they said.
On Yamuna pollution, Saxena praised the "exceedingly good work" by trapping and diverting water for treatment from TD-1 & TD-2 in Gurugram, leading to lesser pollution in the Najafgarh drain and consequently in the Yamuna in Delhi.
He thanked the Haryana chief minister for his proactive response to his letter in this regard and noted that a team of officers headed by the chief secretary had personally visited the LG Secretariat and helped address the issue.
The issue of water supply to Delhi from the dams in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand was also raised in the council meeting.
Fast-tracking of agreements concerning dams will result in a win-win situation for all and Delhi will get adequate water while the states concerned will generate additional electricity, he suggested in the meeting.
The issue of inter-state security and the dimensions attached to it due to porous borders, including drug trafficking and the movement of criminals, were also discussed in the meeting.
The LG is said to have stressed that many problems and issues in Delhi have an inter-state dimension in terms of causes and consequences, and to deal with them, it was necessary that all states cooperate on a common platform, the Raj Niwas officials said.