Page 4 - Gopal Rai

Gopal Rai urges UP, Haryana to ensure trucks use peripheral expressways

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday wrote to Uttar Pradesh and Haryana transport ministers requesting them to ensure that trucks carrying non-essential goods are diverted through peripheral expressways to avoid traffic jams at the capital's borders. He urged that all the non-destined vehicles should be diverted through Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressway right at their entry points before Delhi Border. Earlier in the day, during a press conference, Rai had expressed concerns over the negligence in the implementation of the ban on the entry of polluting trucks into Delhi at smaller entry points. He said the government will write a letter to the Delhi transport commissioner, urging them to plug the gaps. Rai had said he would also write to the transport ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, asking them to issue directions to divert trucks carrying non-essential goods on peripheral expressways to avoid traffic jams at the capital's borders. The minister's observat

Delhi govt says the odd-even scheme will not come into effect for now

Gopal Rai said the government will review the air quality situation after Diwali, and a call on the odd-even scheme may be taken if there's a sudden dip in air quality

Ministers will work to ensure implementation of control measures: Gopal Rai

Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday said all ministers of the Delhi government will work at the ground level to ensure strict implementation of air pollution control measures in the national capital. Addressing a press conference here, Rai expressed concern over negligence on part of officers in the implementation of measures outlined in the Centre's air pollution control plan called Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). "We have now decided that all ministers will work at the ground level, they will conduct inspections and ensure strict implementation of all air pollution control measures," he said. While Rai will monitor the implementation of these steps in the North and Northeast districts of Delhi, Kailash Gehlot will conduct inspections in the Southwest and West districts. Atishi will be responsible for the East and Southeast districts, Saurabh Bharadwaj for the South and New Delhi districts, Imran Hussain for the Central and Shahdara districts and Raj Kumar Anand for the

Gopal Rai calls meeting with all ministers on ongoing air pollution problem

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai has called a meeting with all ministers to discuss the air pollution problem gripping the national capital for more than two weeks now. The meeting will take place at the Delhi Secretariat at 12:30 pm, officials said. The air quality in Delhi was recorded in the 'severe' category on Thursday morning, with a marginal improvement expected just ahead of Diwali as meteorological conditions are likely to become slightly favourable. The city's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 420 at 8 am on Thursday, compared to 426 at 4 pm on Wednesday. The AQI map prepared by the Central Pollution Control Board showed clusters of red dots (indicating hazardous air quality) spread across the Indo-Gangetic plains. Neighbouring Ghaziabad (369), Gurugram (396), Noida (394), Greater Noida (450), and Faridabad (413) also reported very bad air quality. According to officials at the India Meteorological Department, a change in wind direction from northwest to southeast due

Delhi govt to attempt inducing artificial rain to curb air pollution: Rai

The Delhi government will attempt to induce artificial rain through cloud seeding this month in an effort to combat air pollution in the national capital, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Wednesday. Rai said he held a meeting with scientists from IIT Kanpur who told him that cloud seeding could only be attempted if there were clouds or moisture in the atmosphere. "Experts anticipate that such conditions could develop around November 20-21. We have asked the scientists to prepare a proposal in this regard which will be submitted to the Supreme Court," the minister added. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of the India Meteorological Department, told PTI that research is being conducted globally on artificial rain. "There have been a few attempts in India... in Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Globally, research is being conducted on artificial rain, which requires the basic requirement of clouds or moisture. Only under these conditions can it occur. "Certain nuclei ar

Kejriwal recommends suspension of DPCC chairman, sends file to LG: Report

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday recommended to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena the suspension of DPCC chairman Ashwani Kumar for allegedly stopping a study to ascertain pollution sources in Delhi and shutting down an anti-smog tower, government sources said. The file recommending the suspension of Kumar, a senior IAS officer and principal secretary (home) in the Delhi government, has been sent to Saxena, they said. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai had recently alleged that Kumar stalled a source apportionment study by IIT-Kanpur that was approved by the Delhi Cabinet and wrote to Kejriwal demanding his suspension. It was also alleged by Rai that the anti-smog tower in Connaught Place was shut down by Kumar, who took up the role of Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) chairman in December last year. No immediate reaction was available from Kumar.

Delhi to include SC's directives for implementation of odd-even scheme: Rai

The Delhi government will incorporate the Supreme Court's directions on pollution in finalising details of the odd-even car rationing scheme, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Tuesday. The minister on Monday announced that to combat pollution, the odd-even scheme will be enforced in the national capital from November 13-20. The apex court, while hearing a matter pertaining to air pollution in the Delhi-NCR on Tuesday, flagged issues like crop residue burning, vehicular pollution and burning of waste in the open. Rai said he held a meeting with senior officers of the transport and environment departments and the traffic police to discuss the modalities of the odd-even scheme. The government will now study the SC order and include its suggestions and directions to plan further, he added.

Delhi's air quality dips to 394, improves slightly to 'very poor' category

According to the data by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the national capital's AQI was 421 on Monday evening

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Delhi's air quality continues in 'severe' category as AQI hits 488

Delhi air pollution: In view of the rising pollution, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai has today called a meeting of all concerned departments to strictly implement stage four of the Grap measures

Stubble burning in Haryana causes spike in Delhi's air pollution: Gopal Rai

The minister said that as per the Centre's data, cases of stubble burning in Punjab have been reduced

Delhi's AQI in 'severe' category, Gopal Rai urges Centre to convene meeting

Gurugram also joined the list of cities as the AQI dipped to the 'severe' category at 404

Permit only CNG, electric, BS VI vehicles in Delhi-NCR: Rai urges Centre

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Saturday urged the Centre to permit only CNG, electric, and BS VI-compliant vehicles in Delhi-NCR to combat vehicular pollution. In a letter to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, he expressed concerns about the expected deterioration in air quality in the coming days due to Diwali and stubble burning in neighbouring states. "Therefore, an emergency meeting should be convened with NCR states to address the issue," he said. Starting from November 1, only electric, CNG, and BS VI-compliant diesel buses are allowed to operate between Delhi and the cities and towns in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan that fall within the National Capital Region (NCR), according to directions issued by the Centre's Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). Rai suggested that the Centre should also implement a ban on all vehicles non-compliant with BS VI norms in the entire National Capital Region. Various emission inventory and source apportionme

Gopal Rai urges union environment minister to address pollution problem

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai called upon his Union counterpart on Friday to become more active in addressing the air pollution problem, saying it's not just the national capital, but the entire north India that is breathing polluted air. Rai pointed out that the air pollution issue is not confined to Delhi alone, and the situation is the same across north India. He said, "The Bharatiya Janata Party is blaming Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the air pollution problem in Delhi, but he is not responsible for the poor air quality in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana." At a press conference held here, he appealed to the Union environment minister to become more proactive, saying, "It doesn't seem like there's a Union Environment Ministry in Delhi." Rai said while he was taking all possible steps to address the problem, "No one knows what the environment ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are doing". Delhi's air quality plummeted to the "severe plus" category on Friday morn

Gopal Rai blames outsiders for Delhi pollution, says govt cannot control it

The Environment Minister said that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi is working on a war footing to curb the pollution level

Next 15 days to remain crucial: Rai on deteriorating air quality in Delhi

"We need to work unitedly in order to curb the situation. Everyone needs to be aware of it", he said

Delhi's air quality continues to be 'very poor' with the AQI at 343

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported air quality until 4 PM on November 1. The air quality index for Delhi stood at 364 which falls under the "Very Poor" category

Ban BS III and BS IV buses operating in NCR areas, says Gopal Rai

He conducted a surprise inspection of Kashmere Gate ISBT for diesel buses coming from NCR states as per the Delhi Government's efforts to tackle vehicular pollution

Stubble burning contribution to Delhi's pollution likely to reduce: Rai

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Saturday that the number of stubble burning incidents recorded in neighbouring states so far is fewer than last year, and the overall contribution of farm fires to the city's air pollution is expected to reduce. However, he cautioned that air pollution may increase in the coming days due to unfavourable meteorological conditions. Only around 2,500 stubble burning incidents have been recorded so far, compared to 5,000 such cases during the same period last year, he told reporters here. According to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Punjab, which accounts for the maximum number of cases of stubble burning every year, reported 49,922 farm fires in 2022, compared to 71,304 the previous year and 83,002 in 2020. The agrarian state logged 50,738 incidents of stubble burning in 2019, 59,684 in 2018, 67,079 in 2017, and 1,02,379 in 2016. Haryana recorded 3,661 farm fires in 2022, down from 6,987 in 2021 and 4,202 in 2020. The neighbour

Delhi's air quality stays 'poor', anti-pollution drive to start today

CPCB's daily bulletin showed that Meghalaya's Byrnihat was the most polluted city in India, with an AQI of 302, followed by Hanumangarh (297) and Greater Noida (278)