New Delhi: With the festival of Diwali approaching, the Delhi government has urged the Centre to impose a complete ban on firecracker burning in the entire National Capital Region (NCR) to prevent a spike in air pollution levels.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai made the request during a meeting with Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and environment ministers of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan on Friday.
Rai said that Delhi had already announced a comprehensive ban on the manufacturing, storage, sale and use of firecrackers within the capital city, following the practice of the last three years. However, he said that this measure would not be effective unless the neighbouring states also enforced a similar ban across the NCR.
According to a report by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), an independent environmental think tank, 31 per cent of Delhi’s pollution originates from sources within the city, while 69 per cent stems from sources in NCR states.
Rai said that Delhi had taken several steps to curb air pollution during the winter season, such as launching anti-dust campaigns, installing smog towers, deploying environment marshals and conducting tree plantation drives. He said that these steps would not yield results unless the NCR states also addressed the sources of pollution in their regions.
Apart from banning firecrackers, Rai also suggested other measures to reduce pollution in the NCR:
- Banning stubble burning across the region and providing incentives to farmers for adopting alternative methods of crop residue management.
- Banning the movement of diesel buses across the region and allowing only CNG and electric vehicles to ply.
- Converting industrial units in NCR states that still use polluting fuels to piped natural gas.
- Adopting zig-zag technology in brick kilns operating in NCR states to mitigate pollution.
- Providing electricity to all housing societies in NCR states to reduce reliance on diesel generators.
- Redirecting non-destined vehicles from their point of origin on the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government organised a run on Friday to raise awareness about the effects of air pollution and to seek public support in improving the city’s air quality. Rai said that officials from various Delhi government departments participated in the ‘Run Against Pollution’ event and pledged to use public transport, turn off vehicle engines when the traffic signal turns red and maintain clean surroundings.
The government also plans to relaunch the ‘Red Light On Gaadi Off’ campaign to combat vehicular pollution in the city. Another public awareness campaign, ‘Patakhe Nahi Diye Jalao,’ will be reintroduced to discourage the burning of firecrackers.
