Must read report for vehicle users in Okhla
The Delhi Government today announced another set of strict measures to enforce the same Winter Action Plan. Most prominent among the measures is that consumers will not be able to buy fuel in Delhi without valid PUCs from October 25.
Environment Minister Gopal said: “From October 25, valid PUC will be mandatory for buying petrol and diesel at all pumps, Environment Department will issue its notification soon. The Green War Room will be launched on October 3 to implement Winter Action Plan. An anti dust campaign will be started in Delhi from October 6. We will start free spraying of Pusa bio-decomposer to prevent stubble burning from October 10. Delhi Government will strictly implement GRAP. However, a joint action plan should be made for all NCR states.”
Rai addressed a conference regarding the Winter Action Plan. He said: “Keeping in mind the phenomenon of the rise of pollution level in Delhi every year, the Delhi Government, along with about thirty government departments, prepared the Winter Action Plan. Kejriwal presented the plan in front of the people of Delhi yesterday by the. He also informed that ever since coming into power, the fight against pollution is going on a war footing as a result of which PM 10 level of Delhi has declined by 18 per cent in the past five years as per the report by an agency of the Central Government. The support of the people of Delhi was pivotal in our mission. The Environment Department has also undertaken various studies to assess the reduction of pollution in the last 10 years on other parameters and we will release the outcome of study to the public very soon.”
He said: “In Delhi, a 15-point action plan has been prepared against pollution, which will be implemented with strictness in Delhi, and all departments have been directed to rename prepared on alert mode for the same. CAQM has issued the modified GRAP system today and the Delhi Government has decided to implement it strictly. It should also be implemented in a similar manner across the entire NCR. We are now in a position to take action three days prior to deterioration of air level on the basis of forecast. All the departments will come into action swiftly because the change in pollution level in the winter season could be forecasted to an extent, but the rain and wind direction also has an important role to play.”
Talking about the implementation of the Winter Action Plan, he said: “In order to firmly implement the GRAP system as well as the 15-point Action Plan announced by the CM yesterday on the ground, we are going to launch a 24×7 war room in Delhi Secretariat from October 3rd. It will allow us to monitor the implementation of our plan efficiently with the support of the citizens of Delhi. It is because at several places in NCR, the GRAP system gets announced but there is not much seriousness about its implementation. That’s why there is a need for public cooperation in Delhi. Our Government will not remain dependent only on the officers and hence, the war room will remain operational 24×7. We will increase the citizen’s involvement through the ‘Green Delhi’ App so that the government’s report can be verified through the feedback of the people.”
He said: “The anti-dust campaign will begin on the 6th. All the rules and regulations prepared under the GRAP system have been sent to all the departments. I am also requesting the private agencies and construction companies to comply with two new measures we have brought this year, along with the measures which are already in force. First, all the construction sites with an area greater than 5 hundred sq metres should mandatorily register themselves on the web portal developed by the Environment Department. If they show any negligence in registration, they will be shut down in case the AQI level increases as per the GRAP system.”
Rai said: “Second, earlier, the sites with an area over 20 thousand sq metres were required to install an anti-smog gun. We have changed the rule, and the same is conveyed to everyone. Now the construction sites sized between 5 thousand sq metres to 10 thousand sq metres are required to have anti-smog guns. A construction site with an area between 5 thousand sq metres to 10 thousand sq metres needs to have one anti-smog gun. Construction sites sized between 10 thousand sq metres to 15 thousand sq metres are required to have two anti-smog guns and sites having a size between 15 thousand sq metres and 20 thousand sq metres need to have three anti-smog guns. Construction sites with an area greater than 20 thousand sq metres are required to have four anti-smog guns. We will take strict action if the new directions are not followed. There is still some time to make the necessary arrangements to comply with them because there will be no leniency.”
He said: “Kejriwal also announced that we will sprinkle bio-decomposer to decompose the stubble and avoid stubble burning. We have also increased the coverage area from 4 thousand acre to 5 thousand acre. We are taking the bio-decomposer in liquid form from the PUSA institute. We will start sparkling the bio-decomposer in all fields from October 10th belonging to those farmers who have filled the form, irrespective of whether or not they were growing basmati. I am appealing to the farmers, especially the ones who have fields on the Delhi-Haryana border in the Narela, Bhawana and Mundka area, that there were reports of stubble burning in those areas last year. They should use bio-decomposers to decompose the stubble. We have also alerted the Revenue Department to ensure that no one burns the stubble this year.”
Informing about a new provision regarding PUC certificates for effective compliance, he said: “Moreover, there is a new development under process. In the past, we have taken a lot of measures to curb vehicle pollution and new measures have also been inculcated in the Winter Action Plan. We are gearing up to implement another rule to not fill the petrol on petrol pumps in case the vehicles do not have PUC certificate. The Environment Minister said, “Towards this extent, we released a public notice for suggestion on March 3rd, 2022 and then we issued notices to all the departments on March 14th, 2022. We received suggestions from all the stakeholders by May 2nd, 2022. I chaired a meeting with officers of the Transport Department, Traffic Police, Food Supplies Department and all the concerned departments on September 29th where this decision was taken. The Transport Department will issue a notice on October 3rd, 2022 and people will have time till October 25th to get the PUC certificates of their vehicles. From October 25th onwards, no one will get petrol without a PUC certificate. The Transport Department will also give notice to all the government departments so that they can also check if they have valid PUCs.”
He added: “Last year, we took stringent action through strict surveillance and we can see the result of our action. I am appealing to the Delhiites that it is not possible to implement the Winter Action Plan without your cooperation. Your health and well-being are of utmost importance for us and we will work night and day to tighten a noose on pollution. People have followed the rules we have brought in the past, but pollution is an atmospheric issue as well. As per CSE’s report published last year, only 31 per cent of Delhi’s pollution has emerged from sources within Delhi and the remaining NCR areas contribute towards 69 per cent of Delhi’s pollution.”
Rai said: “I am requesting the governments of those NCR areas to prepare their Winter Action Plan and form special teams for its monitoring and implementation. For instance, all the ministers and senior officers of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana reside in their respective state capitals, and they are not able to relate to the issue of air pollution in the NCR or the areas of their states bordering Delhi. This Winter Action Plan should keep in mind the needs and security of those areas. They should create a regional task force to oversee the implementation of this plan and it should be headquartered in the NCR range. We will remain in contact with all those state governments on this aspect. But before that, I want to appeal to the Delhiites to come together in implementing the Winter Action Plan announced by Kejriwal yesterday so that we can avoid respiratory issues in the upcoming winters.”
