Ahead of winters, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announces action plan to curb pollution

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said pollution levels declined in the national capital due to government initiatives as he announced the winter action plan to curb pollution.

The number of days witnessing severe pollution levels declined in the last eight years due to several initiatives of the government, such as the introduction of electric buses and the EV Policy, among others, he said at a press conference.

Announcing the winter action plan, Kejriwal said the Pusa bio-decomposer that prevents stubble burning will be sprayed on 5,000 hectares of farmland this year against 4,400 hectares last year.

The Pusa bio-decomposer, developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) here, is a microbial solution that can turn paddy straw into manure in 15-20 days.

The government will deploy 530 water sprinklers to prevent dust pollution and 385 teams will check vehicles' pollution certificates and prevent the plying of overage cars.

In 2018, the Supreme Court banned diesel and petrol vehicles older than 10 and 15 years, respectively, in Delhi. It had added that the vehicles plying in violation of the order would be impounded.

A 2014 order of the National Green Tribunal bars vehicles older than 15 years from being parked in public places.

Kejriwal said burning garbage in the open is banned in Delhi and 611 teams will monitor its implementation.

He also urged people to download the Green Delhi mobile application and report any pollution-causing activity to the government.