Air pollution: Delhi govt urges UP, Haryana, Rajasthan to restrict plying diesel buses to capital
New Delhi: Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday wrote letters to the transport ministers of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, urging them to ensure no diesel buses from their states plied to the national capital in view of GRAP II restrictions in place. With the air quality in Delhi plummeting, Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) second stage restrictions kicked in from 8 am.
Rai announced a slew of measures, including enhanced water sprinkling to control road dust, use of dust suppressants and deployment of additional traffic personnel to ease traffic congestion, among others. Rai said in his letters that a major component of this air pollution is vehicular emissions largely attributed to the significant number of diesel buses reaching Delhi from their states.
"The impact of diesel emissions on air quality is well established and the large influx of such buses significantly contribute to the degradation of air quality in Delhi, posing serious health risks to the residents," he said.
Delhi is already grappling with poor air quality and this additional burden from interstate traffic is aggravating the situation, he said. "In light of this, I kindly request your office to consider restricting the entry of diesel buses from entering Delhi or implementing stricter regulations to control their emission norms," Rai added.
The minister offered to collectively work out implementation of more effective solutions like transition to CNG or use of electric buses for interstate transport along with strict enforcement of emission norms. He emphasised that taking proactive steps can help to reduce air pollution and ensure a cleaner and healthier environment in the national capital.