Will form special task force to monitor implementation of C-40 air quality declaration: Delhi CM

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said his government will form a special task force to monitor implementation of a declaration signed during a climate summit at Copenhagen in Denmark.

The Chief Minister was scheduled to visit Copenhagen to take part in the C-40 Climate Change Summit but was denied permission by External Affairs ministry.

He addressed a joint conference along with mayors of various world cities through video conferencing.

The C-40 Clean Air Cities declaration was signed at the summit.

"I wanted to be here personally but could not do so because of unavoidable circumstances," Kejriwal said during a joint press conference.

Apart from Kejriwal, the joint press conference was addressed by mayors of Paris, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Los Angles and other cities.

Expressing pleasure over joining the C-40 declaration, the chief minister said could do so because of the support of two crore people of Delhi.

"In coming days, we are going to form a special task force to be chaired by me to monitor implementation of the C-40 declaration," he said.

The chief minister also talked about various efforts taken by his government, including the implementation of the odd-even scheme, to clean air quality in Delhi.

"A good news is that in the last many years, Delhi was struggling against high pollution, but now it has gone down by 25 percent over the last three years," he said.

The C-40 network connects more than 90 of the world's leading cities to take bold climate action and build a healthier and more sustainable future.

Representing more than 700 million citizen and one quarter of the global economy, mayors of C-40 cities are committed to deliver on the most ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement at the local level, as well as to cleaning the air, a statement said.