Gopal Rai launches month-long drive to combat dust pollution in Delhi

Delhi's Environment Minister Gopal Rai Saturday launched a month-long drive to prevent dust pollution in the capital and said strict action will be taken against anyone found violating relevant norms.

The Centre's air quality panel on Friday directed authorities in the National Capital Region to enforce a ban on coal usage in hotels and restaurants, and to take punitive measures against polluting industries and thermal power plants as the air quality in Delhi plunged into the 'poor' category.

This action comes as part of the central government's pollution control plan known as the 'Graded Response Action Plan' (GRAP) which is implemented in Delhi-NCR to combat air pollution during the winter season.

Rai said the "Anti-Dust Campaign" is being launched in view of the worsening air quality. "This will include measures such as the installation of dust control equipment at all sites exceeding 500 square metres, with real-time monitoring available through a web portal," he said.

He said that 591 teams have been set up to ensure strict compliance with dust control norms, with 530 water sprinklers and 258 mobile anti-smog guns employed to combat dust pollution.

Rai said separate and specific action plans have been designed for each of the 13 air pollution hotspots in Delhi based on real-time air quality data collected from 40 air quality monitoring stations in the capital

He said a total of 13 teams had been formed to implement these action plans at the identified air pollution hotspots.

The Delhi government had last month launched a 15-point action plan to mitigate air pollution in the capital during the winter season, with a strong emphasis on addressing dust pollution, vehicular emissions, and the open burning of garbage.