Easing traffic congestion among steps to tackle bad air: Govt

The government plans to enforce a slew of measures such as mechanised road sweeping, easing traffic congestion and controlling dust to tackle air pollution in Delhi-NCR.
A high-level meeting chaired by Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan today also decided that major construction sites would be monitored closely and any violation leading to pollution would be dealt with strictly.
The meeting was attended by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi PWD minister Satyendra Jain, Uttar Pradesh environment minister Dara Singh Chauhan, his Haryana counterpart Vipul Goyal and senior officials from Rajasthan and Punjab.
"It was noted that the Task Force Committee headed by Principal Secretary to Prime Minister is examining the issue of stubble burning. It was further noted that an action plan to address this issue will be ready in the next one month," an official statement said.

It was decided during the meeting that strict measures would be taken for controlling dust pollution while dust emission at major construction sites woud be monitored closely and violations dealt with strictly.
Mechanised sweeping will be undertaken on a large scale and all possible assistance will be provided to municipal corporations by the Central government for increasing the scope of machine-aided road cleaning.

"Fire from municipal solid waste dump sites will be tackled in an urgent manner. Innovative approaches, in consultation with the Department of Science and Technology, will be adopted at the earliest to ensure that pollution is tackled," the statement said.

It was also decided that the decision regarding a ban on petcoke and furnace oil would be strictly enforced in all the National Capital Region (NCR) states.
"Delhi Police will be requested to tackle the issue of traffic congestion and parking in Delhi. All steps will be taken to increase the availability of public transport in the medium term," it said.
Pollution Control Boards will work in a "proactive" manner to ensure that violators are dealt with strictly, it was decided.
"A special 'Anti Pollution Drive' will be launched in January, 2018, for 15 days, wherein there will be concerted action to tackle... air pollution by all the agencies," it said.

There will be a close interaction with Science and Technology institutions for the use of innovative technologies to tackle air pollution.
Emphasising that battling bad air was a collective responsibility that needed the cooperation of all stakeholders, minister Vardhan expressed confidence that pollution would be tackled in a holistic manner by next year.
He reiterated that the practice of holding regular meetings with ministers of NCR states to ensure that all the activities on the ground are monitored closely would continue.
The government of Delhi will work closely with all agencies in tackling pollution, the statement quoted Kejriwal as saying.