Environment Minister Shri Gopal Rai chaired a review meeting on Delhi’s air quality today. The officers of Environment Department and DPCC were present in this meeting. During the discussion with the officials, it was found that the dusty winds blowing from the west have played a major role in increasing the AQI level and PM 10 of Delhi. On 16th and 17th May, an increase in the amount of PM10 was observed in Delhi. In view of this, instructions have been given to all the agencies to run anti-smog guns continuously and sprinkle water at C&D sites.
Environment Minister Shri Gopal Rai said, “The Kejriwal government has always been taking tough steps regarding increasing pollution in Delhi. Today a review meeting was held with officials of the Environment Department and DPCC at the Delhi Secretariat regarding the increased AQI level in the recent past. During the meeting, it was noted that on the 16th and 17th of May, a significant portion of Delhi and NCR was engulfed by dust, causing reduced visibility. The spike in Delhi’s AQI levels can be attributed to the westerly winds that carried dust from Thar and Pakistan. Consequently, the contribution of dust pollution increased from 11% between May 1 to 15 to 65.77% on May 16 and 17. This led to severe levels of PM10 in Delhi during these two days. Officials have been instructed to operate anti-smog cannons continuously and sprinkle water continuously at C&D sites.”
Shri Gopal Rai said, “As part of the Summer Action Plan, several departments have deployed 84 Mechanical Road Sweeping (MRS) machines, 609 water sprinklers, and 185 mobile anti-smog guns throughout Delhi to combat dust pollution. Previously, anti-smog guns were only required on construction sites larger than 20,000 square metres to address dust pollution. However, the new regulations now mandate the installation of anti-smog guns on construction sites larger than 5000 square metres. All relevant departments have been instructed to monitor construction sites continuously, and any violations of the rules will result in appropriate action by the department in accordance with NGT guidelines.”
