'Afforestation of marginal lands to reduce pollution'

New Delhi: Afforestation of agriculturally marginal lands in Rajasthan and Gujarat would help in effectively reducing  dust pollution in Delhi, which recently witnessed severe deterioration in air quality due to dust storm in neighbouring states, The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri) has said.

A massive dust storm wreaked havoc in Alwar, Dholpur and Bharatpur districts of Rajasthan in May, and claimed over 100 lives.

The dust storm also led to deterioration in air quality in Delhi to “severe” level.

The drop in air quality brought into light the new phenomenon of summer pollution due to increase in the presence of coarser particles in the air carried by dust storm.

Prodipto Ghosh, a distinguished fellow at Teri, said that one of the most effective ways of reducing dust pollution in Delhi is  afforestation.

“Dust is mainly coming from the northwest part of the country. So if we focus our INDC targets on marginal lands in Rajasthan and Gujarat region, then large-scale afforestation on them would improve the dust situation and even the groundwater situation,” Mr Ghosh said.

India has committed to create additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030 under its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) which aims to lower carbon emission.

In a recent report of Teri and the Automotive Research Association of India, it was shown that about 74 per cent of pollution in Delhi during the summer is caused by external factors, including dust pollution.