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Pollution Control
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the CAQM, CPCB and state pollution control boards to come out with measures to prevent air pollution within three weeks, ahead of the onset of winter when pollution levels spike. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran also pulled up states over vacancies in their pollution control boards and asked states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab to fill them in three months. The bench also passed similar directions to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). It, however, granted six months for filling up promotional posts in state pollution control boards, CAQM and CPCB. The CAQM is a statutory body formed by the Centre and its main goal is to manage and improve air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR) and its adjoining areas, which include parts of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The bench was hearing a suo m
Maharashtra environment minister Pankaja Munde on Saturday said the state's pollution control board must conduct surprise inspections at sewage treatment plants (STPs) on the lines of "raids" by the Enforcement Directorate to ensure compliance with prevalent norms. Addressing a joint meeting with industrialists and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board officials in Nashik, Munde also said industries must grow, but environmental protection has to be prioritised. "Just like the ED conducts raids, the Pollution Control Board must raid STP plants. Check whether the water is being treated properly before being discharged into rivers," Munde said. Addressing the growing concerns of pollution and the role of industry in safeguarding the environment, she said, "We are now facing a global crisis. Industries must grow, but environmental protection must be prioritised. Reducing pollution in zones like the red category is critical." She also highlighted the need for efficient water use and ...
Pollution in east, north and central Indian cities primarily comes from residential and transportation sectors, while in western India, industry and energy are the main contributors to local PM2.5 pollution, a study has found. Published in the journal Modeling Earth Systems and Environment, the study also found that PM2.5 pollution in cities in south India majorly comes from the industry and residential sectors. Researchers from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Maharashtra, and the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, analysed pollution levels in 53 cities, having more than a million population during the winter of 2015-2016. Residential emissions -- from burning biomass for cooking and heating -- were found to be the leading contributor to local PM2.5 pollution in Srinagar (68 per cent), Varanasi (37 per cent), Allahabad (34 per cent) and Kanpur (33 per cent). The transportation sector's contribution to local PM2.5 pollution was found to be higher in north Indian .
Delhi's hazardous air quality was a key focus at COP29, as experts warned about the health risks of air pollution and called for immediate global action. Aarti Khosla, Director of Climate Trends, sais that Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) had reached dangerous levels, with some areas recording particulate pollution above 1,000 microgram per cubic metre. Pollution comes from many sources like black carbon, ozone, burning fossil fuels, and farm fires. We need solutions that tackle all of these, she said. Khosla also explained that low wind speeds during the La Nia weather pattern are trapping pollutants in the air, making the situation worse. While we discuss major global issues, millions of people's health is at risk. We must act fast, she said. Courtney Howard, Vice-Chair of the Global Climate and Health Alliance, shared her experience from Canada, where wildfires forced the evacuation of 70 per cent of her population in 2023. This was expensive, even for a rich country like ours. ..
Petrol pump owners on Thursday wrote to Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, seeking a meeting with him to revise PUCC rates for Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates in the national capital. The letter comes days after the Delhi Petrol Dealers' Association (DPDA) shut down nearly 600 PUC centres functioning at petrol pumps, saying the hike was not commensurate with operational costs. On July 11, the Delhi government increased the PUC certificate charges for petrol, CNG and diesel vehicles after a gap of about 13 years. The hike ranges between Rs 20 and Rs 40. "Sir, most of the PUC centres have operated the last few years in losses to avoid any inconvenience to the general public. However, due to this extreme unviability, many PUC centres have been forced to surrender their licenses in the last few months. The Managing Committee of the DPDA had thus resolved to close PUC centres across Delhi from July 15 in light of the "arbitrary and grossly insufficient hike", it said.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday alleged that Lt Governor V K Saxena scuttled the efforts of the Arvind Kejriwal government to make Delhi pollution-free by allowing the feeling of 1,100 trees in the Satbari ridge area without permission. There was no immediate reaction from LG office to the allegation. Addressing a press conference here, AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said that in the last 10 years, the Aam Aadmi Party government has taken many long-term and short-term steps to control pollution in Delhi. "One such long-term measure is planting trees. The Delhi government has brought Delhi's green cover to a historic high in the last 10 years and Delhi's green cover is now about 24 per cent. "In the last four years, two crore trees have been planted in Delhi. As many as 17 city forests exist in Delhi and the Aam Aadmi Party government is creating six more forests in Delhi," she said. The AAP leader said that the Delhi government is developing "city forests" near the metro sta