CM Rekha launches corporate backed drive against pollution
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday announced a slew of measures by involving corporates to fight pollution, and said the city needs a united and determined effort to combat the menace. She also urged citizens, companies and government agencies to take shared responsibility.
Describing the campaign as ‘Pradushan ke viruddh Dilli ka yuddh’, she emphasised that meaningful results will come only when everyone participates actively.
The Chief Minister also said a large-scale cleaning, road-washing and water-sprinkling drive will be conducted on Saturday across the Ring Road corridor, aimed at controlling road dust and improving air quality.
The announcements were made during the signing of an important Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Public Works Department (PWD) and the GMR Group.
Highlighting the government’s new initiative to involve corporations in the fight against pollution, the Chief Minister said that several major companies in Delhi are being roped in as partners through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes.
Under these partnerships, companies will take responsibility for maintaining designated road stretches and flyovers. She announced that GMR has signed an MoU to maintain and beautify the Azad Market–Inderlok stretch. Under this partnership, the company will carry out jet cleaning, drip irrigation, plantation and greening, along with regular upkeep and overall road beautification of the entire corridor. The project will continue for three years, with GMR undertaking the work at an estimated cost of Rs 6 crore under its CSR initiatives. “The work has already started,” the Chief Minister added.
She further informed that the Delhi Government, in collaboration with several corporate partners, will redevelop and beautify many important roads and flyovers across the city through CSR support.
These include major corridors such as the Madhuban Chowk–Mukarba Chowk stretch; the Chirag Delhi, Panchsheel Club and IIT flyovers; the Punjabi Bagh Flyover and Aurobindo Marg; Munirka Flyover; the Punjabi Bagh Flyover (Ram Mandir side) on the Outer Ring Road; Netaji Subhash Place Flyover; the Oberoi–Lodhi Road Flyover; and the Karampura Flyover, among others.
Reiterating the government’s commitment to creating a clean and pollution-free Delhi, the Chief Minister urged residents to adopt environmentally responsible practices such as carpooling, avoiding the burning of wood, coal and biomass, and supporting community-led cleanliness efforts.
“Delhi will remain clean and safe only when its citizens stand united in this effort,” she said.
She added that strict action will be taken against polluters and encouraged workplaces to adopt work-from-home practices wherever feasible to reduce vehicular congestion.
