Delhi govt discusses steps to check air, noise pollution

Aiming to firm up anti-pollution measures ahead of Diwali and the onset of winter, Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain today held a review meeting with DMs, SDMs, DPCC and police among others.
During the meeting at the Delhi Secretariat, the preparedness and action plan for checking air and noise pollution was discussed. The government has also launched an anti-firecracker campaign.
Barring Anand Vihar, the city's pollution hotspot which had air quality index in the 'severe' category, other areas monitored by agencies such as Central Pollution Control Board and SAFAR had moderate quality air today.
A series of directions have been issued to the agencies concerned to check the menace of firecrackers, including an order to the Police and Customs Deparment to strictly enforce the ban on the import and sale of firecrackers of foreign origin in Delhi.

Restriction on licenses for sale of fireworks, complete ban on bursting of sound-emitting firecrackers between 10 PM and 6 AM and the formation of inspection teams comprising area SDMs and Executive Engineers (DPCC) to check availability of imported firecrackers in the market are among the other measures suggested.
Earlier, Hussain had written to the state governments of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh urging them to take immediate steps to check paddy burning which worsens Delhi's air quality every winter.