Union Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) Prakash Javadekar said that 50 teams from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) would be deployed this winter in the national capital region of Delhi ( NCR) in an attempt to stem the decline in the air quality index. (AQI), which has become an annual health risk.
CPCB authorities would also coordinate with some of the northwestern states on a daily basis to monitor pollutant emissions, Javadekar said.
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The minister made the announcement after a review meeting with his counterparts from Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Delhi on Thursday.
These northwestern states have been recording some of the worst AQI in the country during winter for the past several years due to seasonal stubble burning. Farmers set their fields on fire to remove excess crop residues in time for the wheat planting season, leading to poor AQI throughout the region.
At the meeting it was decided that the northwestern states will adopt a hotspot approach to controlling air pollution during the upcoming winter season.
For example, Delhi will focus on controlling sources of pollution in 13 of its hot spots, such as Mayapuri, Bawana, Narela, Dwarka, Rohini, RK Puram and Jahangirpuri.
Similarly, Haryana will focus on Panipat, Sonepat, Jhajjar, etc.
UP will concentrate its actions in Bulandshahr, Meerut, Noida, Greater Noida, etc. and Rajasthan will emphasize Bhiwadi.
Testing of a microbial consortium, also called a PUSA decomposer that has been developed by scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), has begun in earnest on thousands of acres in all stubble-burning states, Javadekar said.
“We may see the results of the trials within a year. The Center has disbursed Rs 1.7 billion in the past three years to subsidize straw management machinery in Punjab, Haryana and UP. The measure has also resulted in the reduction of pollution in areas under stubble burning, ”he said.
Punjab government officials have informed the Center that they are trying to raise awareness in the worst districts affected by stubble burning and also explaining the common link between the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic and air pollution. . “Both factors affect the lungs. The government of Punjab is communicating this common bond to farmers and the public, ”added Javadekar.
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