Air quality remains 'poor', 23 polluting units closed

New Delhi: Pollution levels in the national capital remained in the “poor” category on Sunday morning. At 9 am, Delhi’s the air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 281, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The AQI in adjoining areas of Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad and Gurgaon was registered at 302, 297, 251 and 253 respectively. An AQI between 201 and 300 is ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’ and 401-500 ‘severe’.

The city recorded a decline in the pollution levels on Saturday with the air quality moving from the “very poor” to “poor” category owing to favourable wind speed. It was a cold breezy Sunday morning with the minimum temperature settling at 14.5 degrees Celsius.

The weatherman has forecast that the maximum temperature is likely to settle at 29 degrees Celsius and there will be strong surface winds during the day.

Humidity was recorded at 76 per cent. On Saturday, the maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded at 29.8 degrees Celsius and 15.6 degrees Celsius respectively.

Delhi environment minister Kailash Gahlot has urged the neighbouring states to stop stubble-burning immediately and increase the pace of distribution of machinery among farmers for management of paddy straw. Mr Gahlot raised the issue of stubble-burning at a meeting convened by Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday to review steps taken to combat air pollution, a source in Delhi’s environment department said.

Though representatives of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab attended the meeting, Mr Gahlot was the only state minister who took part in it, according to an official in the Union environment ministry. “Stubble-burning should be stopped immediately by the adjoining states so that people of Delhi do not suffer during winters for no fault of theirs,” the Delhi government sources quoted Gahlot as saying.

Gahlot also said distribution of machinery to farmers, for in-situ stubble management, should be expedited to ensure that this problem does not recur.

“Municipal corporations and the Delhi Development Authority should also be directed to pave the roads under their jurisdiction to check dust pollution,” Mr Gahlot said.

The Supreme Court had on November 6 ordered the Centre to prepare a comprehensive scheme, in consultation with the states, within three months to wean small and marginal farmers away from stubble-burning, which has been identified as a major source of air pollution choking the national capital.

Acting on a slew of directions from the Supreme Court, implementing agencies have taken “major action” at 13 pollution hotspots in the national capital, including closing of 23 polluting industrial units, over the last three days, officials said on Sunday.

Municipal corporations have lifted 400 metric tonnes of construction and demolition waste and 1,200 metric tonne garbage during the period, they said.

After the apex court directed a three-member Monitoring Committee to oversee the implementation of pollution control measures, its chairman, Bhure Lal, visited the hotspots of Wazirpur, Ashok Vihar, Punjabi Bagh, Dwarka, and R.K. Puram on November 8 and Narela, Bawana, Jahangirpuri, and Mundka on November 9, according to the officials.

In view of the deficiencies observed by the Monitoring Committee, the municipal corporations have lifted 400 metric tonnes of construction and demolition waste, 1,200 metric tonnes of garbage, and 150 kg of plastic waste and mitigated 10 incidents of garbage burning.

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) sealed 23 units in various industrial areas for violation of environmental norms, the officials said.

Roads have been paved and pits and potholes filled up at Yojna Vihar, Surajmal Vihar, Mansarovar Park, Sultanpur Road, Mundka to Karala Road, and Alipur Road among others. The traffic police removed bottlenecks from Vikash Marg, Malka Ganj, Vivekanand Marg, R.K. Puram Sector-2, and others and issued 52 challans to violators.