Delhi Cabinet Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday claimed that the measures taken by the AAP-led Delhi Government to curb pollution have been successful as according to a study, Delhi’s pollution has decreased by 15 per cent

 Rai presented the report by iqair.com, a Sweden-based organisation and the second one was by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The report by IQ Air revealed that the capital has dropped down to the 10th spot among polluted cities in the world and the one by CSE revealed that Delhi’s PM 2.5 has decreased at the rate of 25 per cent between 2018 and 2020.

“Among the world’s most polluted cities, Delhi has dropped down to the 10th position, as the report by IQ Air revealed. Among the top 10 of this report are seven of Uttar Pradesh’s cities and states, including Lucknow, Kanpur, Noida, and Bulandshahr. The report also reveals that Delhi’s pollution has decreased by 15 per cent,” he said.

The CSE’s report also disclosed that Delhi is the first state in India to have shut down those power plants which emit harmful gases and the first state to have 39 Air Quality Monitoring Systems, he said, accusing the municipal corporations in Delhi carelessness is behind the fire incident of the Ghazipur landfill as revealed by the ‘Delhi Pollution Control Committee’ report.

Following the unfortunate incident of the fire in Ghazipur Landfill, Rai made an earnest request to the central government to analyze these reports and said that the incident was a result of careless working by MCD and the Delhi government shall file a complaint against the Delhi Municipal Corporation.

Underlining the five major points mentioned in the report by the Centre for Science and Environment, he said, “First, the report highlights that Delhi is the first state to have shut down those power plants which emit harmful gases. Despite Supreme Court’s rulings, 12 such plants are operational in the neighbouring areas of Delhi, and the central government has not done anything in this regard.”

The second one is that the city is the first state to have initiated 13 hotspots which initiate measures at the micro-level to curb pollution, right from dust particles to expansion of the green-belt. The third one, Delhi is the first state to have provided PNG Gas at subsidised rates to its industrial sector. The fourth one is, Delhi is the first state to have installed 39 Air Quality Monitoring Systems which analyze and take concrete steps to decrease the AQI index. A lot of other neighbouring states which have these systems do not work effectively, leading to increased air pollution. The fifth one is, the EV policy launched by the Delhi government and its constant efforts to enforce it will help in curbing air pollution,” he said.

Delhi government’s efforts in expanding its green-belt have been successful, whose report the government will be publishing very soon. “Delhi is the first state to have launched the Tree Transplantation Policy, which is inclusive of afforestation measures. Moreover, we have made a policy in which 80 per cent of the plants will be transplanted,” Rai said.

Rai further added that the Delhi Government is going to conduct a two-day conference with environmental experts that will primarily focus on curbing pollution of the national capital.

Highlighting the complacency of neighbouring areas, Rai said “Neighbouring states play a major role in curtailing pollution in Delhi. If Ghaziabad has a high pollution rate, Delhi will inevitably suffer. Furthermore, Noida, Greater Noida or Gurgaon are polluted severely, it will have an impact on the state of Delhi’s air pollution. Hence, I request the central government to analyze these two reports and make efforts like shutting down dangerous power plants or putting an end to diesel-oriented generators by providing 24-7 electricity.