As Delhiites choke and cough as never before due to ‘severe’ levels of air pollution levels, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday called an emergency meeting and announced a five-day ban on all construction and demolition activity, a 10-day closure of the Badarpur thermal plant, closure of all public and private schools for three days, among other things,with effect from Monday.
“Emergency measures are the need of the hour. Instead of politicising the pollution issue, we need to solve it together,” Kejriwal said at a briefing after the meeting. The Chief Minister said that the base level of pollution was already “very high”.
The emergency measures announced include a ban on use of all diesel gensets for the next five days, barring in emergency services, such as hospitals and mobile towers.
The Aam Aadmi Party leader also announced that water sprinkling would be done on roads of 100-feet and above from Monday at least once a week.
The other measures are: Transportation of fly ash from Badarpur plant barred for next 10-days.
Water to be sprinkled on fly ash dump at the plant; strict enforcement of ban on burning of leaves/waste, officers to be held accountable for any lapses in their respective areas of jurisdiction; vacuum cleaning of roads from November 10; local bodies directed to ensure that fires emanating from landfill sites are immediately stopped, among others. While steering clear of announcing the much-debated odd-even traffic scheme, Kejriwal said the departments concerned had been directed to start making preparations for it.
Artifical rainKejriwal said he would also discuss with the Centre the possibility of artificial rain over Delhi to ensure that the smog and dust settle down.
The worsening air quality in Delhi has been unprecedented due to widespread crackers being burst during Diwali, a festival that this year fell close to the annual practice of burning of crop stubble in neighbouring Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
The situation is so alarming that the Centre, too, has called a meeting of environment ministers of all neighbouring States on Monday.