According to Minister Gopal Rai, the Chairman of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has taken the decision to halt a crucial study aimed at determining the sources of pollution in Delhi. What makes this decision particularly noteworthy is that it has been made without obtaining prior approval from the government.
The Delhi government’s first-of-its-kind study to determine pollution sources in the national capital has been halted unilaterally and arbitrarily on the orders of Delhi Pollution Control Committee Chairman (DPCC) Ashwani Kumar, alleged city Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday.
In a press conference, Mr Rai said the Delhi Cabinet had approved the study proposal in July 2021 and signed an MoU with IIT-Kanpur in October 2022.
“The estimated cost was over ₹ 12 crore. The Delhi government had released ₹ 10 crore to IIT-Kanpur for the procurement of necessary equipment and set up a centralised supersite for data collection,” he said.
The Environment Minister also noted that a meeting has been called on Monday at 12 p.m. with all the concerned departments in connection to the execution of the GRAP phase 2 in Delhi. The meeting has also been called keeping in mind the upcoming festival of Diwali.
“The cold has started increasing in Delhi and the speed of the wind has decreased, this may result in an increase in pollution… The particulate matter is staying near the ground. The second phase of GRAP has been implemented in Delhi… A meeting has been called with all the concerned departments to discuss the execution of the GRAP phase 2,” Rai told news agency ANI.
“The weather is not in our hands but the sources need to be controlled so that the effect of pollution on the health of the people is reduced as much as possible,” the Environment Minister added.
What changes under GRAP -2?
As explained by minister Rai, under GRAP 2
-GRAP 2 is mainly about cleaning and water sprinkling.
-The frequency of buses and trains would be increased
-Parking charges would be increased so that people would use less vehicles
-Since winter is increasing, people will be burning bonfires, so Resident Welfare Association (RWA) would be guided to provide heaters to their people
