With Haryana’s 13 districts in the national capital region (NCR) facing the problem of severe levels of air pollution, the state Environment Minister Vipul Goel on Monday said that deliberations are being held to shift all the thermal power plants which contribute to air pollution.
Interacting with mediapersons after attending the Conference of Environment Ministers of NCR and Punjab held under Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Anil Madhav Dave in New Delhi, Goel said that Haryana Government had launched an awareness campaign to reduce pollution caused by crop residue burning.
The maximum pollution is being caused by dust particles and vehicles whereas crop burning is a secondary factor, said the Minister.
He claimed that data and surveys have made it clear that the State Government has successfully reduced the pollution caused by residue burning.
The Minister said that the State Government is taking effective measures such as banning all the polluting vehicles to curb the menace of growing environmental pollution in districts of Faridabad and Gurgaon. He said that it is a very serious matter as the health of people is at stake and collective efforts should be made to resolve this issue instead of playing blame game.
The pollution in the NCR is a common problem of many states, and it is the need of the hour to take collective measures in this regard, said he.
It has been decided in the meeting that an Environment Protection Calendar would be prepared and followed religiously which would definitely yield positive results, he added.
Meanwhile, Union Minister, Anil Madhav Dave on Monday told the media that Haryana’s contribution towards controlling the pollution was praiseworthy as the state had successfully controlled the pollution by 90 per cent.