To control air pollution, Rai urges Haryana, UP, Rajasthan to restrict diesel buses to Capital

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday took stock of the pollution situation in the Capital and instructed the departments concerned to implement strict measures.

Strict measures, including enhancing road dust control, increasing water sprinkling and deploying more municipal workers to manage pollution hotspots, under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage-II have been placed in the Capital.

In separate letters addressed to Transport Ministers of neighbouring states — Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan — Rai on Tuesday urged stricter regulations on inter-state diesel buses in view of the rising pollution in the Capital.

He urged them to take immediate steps in restricting or regulating the entry of diesel buses into Delhi. “The large influx of such buses significantly contributes to the degradation of air quality in Delhi, posing serious health risks to residents. Diesel buses emit a considerable amount of harmful pollutants responsible for respiratory diseases and other health issues,” his letter read.

Stressing the need for collective action, Rai highlighted that neighbouring NCR areas produce twice the pollution of Delhi. He urged BJP-ruled states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to implement GRAP strictly and to switch to electric or CNG buses.

The environment department has also launched a campaign via radio and newspapers to promote public transport.

Rai said pollution levels were on the rise in the Capital, coinciding with the seasonal weather changes. He pointed out that this alarming trend isn’t confined to Delhi alone but is affecting the entire northern region of India.

“In today’s meeting, it was decided that to implement the first rule of GRAP Stage-II, water sprinkling will be increased to control road dust pollution.

Additionally, 6,200 additional MCD workers will be deployed to clean the road dust and water sprinkling at various hotspots in Delhi will be increased. Dust suppressant powder will also be mixed with the water used for sprinkling at these hotspots. All MCD hotspot in-charges have been directed to begin this sprinkling from the October 25,” he said.

Rai said inspections at construction and demolition sites would be intensified to better control pollution. He said, “Each team will inspect two sites daily and submit reports to the war room. Furthermore, a coordination committee led by the Deputy Commissioners will visit hotspots to monitor the action plan’s implementation and report any issues to the war room.”

He continued, “Delhi’s power supply is available 24 hours, but the power department has been instructed to monitor power cuts, especially in industrial areas, to minimise the use of diesel generator sets. According to the GRAP, the traffic police have been tasked with addressing congestion at 97 identified points, and 1,800 traffic officers will be reassigned to manage traffic.”

Rai added that to discourage private transportation, the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) have been directed to increase parking charges or explore other alternatives. “Metro services, which currently operate 4,200 trips, will add 40 more trips starting Wednesday, and DTC buses will reduce their intervals to further encourage public transport usage,” he said.

Meanwhile, to control biomass burning, GRAP Stage-II mandates that Resident Welfare Associations provide heaters for guards and night-shift workers.

“It was decided in today’s meeting that the DPCC will instruct all government departments, private institutions, RWAs and construction sites in Delhi to provide heaters for night-duty staff to effectively implement GRAP Stage-II,” he added.

Rai also pointed out, “We have observed that certain areas, especially Anand Vihar, experience AQI levels around 400, even when Delhi’s overall AQI is 300. Ground visits revealed that buses from neighbouring states — BJP-ruled Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan — are major contributors to the pollution levels in these areas.”