The Environment Ministerial meeting of five States on air pollution and stubble burning will be held on October 1.

“The Environment Ministers of Punjab, Harayana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh will be part of the two-hour-long virtual meeting, along with the respective Environment Secretaries, members of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi Development Authority,” said Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment.

From 2016 onwards, the concerned agencies are being provided short-term, medium-term and long-term plan.

“In the upcoming meeting, work that has been done so far will be reviewed. The objective of the meeting will also be to inform these States and agencies about what more needs to be done to control pollution,” said Javadekar.

National Air Quality Index

In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched National Air Quality Index. The government has done a series of initiatives to mitigate air pollution over the years. It closed down Badarpur power plant, phased out Sonipat power plant, and constructed the Peripheral Expressway, he added.

“In a bid to control pollution, we gave a push to e-vehicles, and today more than 3 lakh vehicles are e-vehicles in the country,” said Javadekar.

Meanwhile, the CPCB recently celebrated its 46th Foundation Day and pledged to provide technical leadership for more science-based environmental management.

The CPCB was established on September 23, 1974, under The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 as a technical arm of Central Government for environmental research, monitoring, regulation and enforcement in the country.

comment COMMENT NOW