New Delhi: The Centre is determined to not let the Delhi smog-like situation recur, environment secretary C.K. Mishra said on Monday and asserted that no single authority can be held responsible for the menace.
If harsh measures are called for, “so be it”, Mr Mishra said at an event hosted by WWF India where he launched a report on “Clean Energy Innovation Ecosystem in the SME sector in India”.
“We recently witnessed the Delhi smog, and the air quality is really a matter of great concern to each one of us. There are a lot of things that should have been done. But, no single organisation or authority can be held responsible.
“Many say the government has been unable to enforce what it says. But, let me put another perspective, if the government has failed to stop the emission, it is time, those who are emitting also took some responsibility,” Mr Mishra said.
The environment secretary said there was a “lot of ground to cover” and it was not always the rulebook that should decide actions, but the concern.
“As the government, we are determined to not let this (Delhi smog-like situation) happen again, which may mean taking harsh measures, and there will be (such measures). Because, we care for lives and we cannot ignore that aspect,” he said.
To address environmental issues, individual efforts need to galvanise into a collective goal for the government and society as a whole, Mr Mishra, who also holds the portfolio of climate change, said.
The environment secretary also reached out to the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and urged the business entities to become extremely competitive in devising “innovative and cleaner technology”.
India has “unique problems” and so it needs “unique solutions”. And, “who comes up with a cleaner technology” has to be the slogan of the industry, he said.
