No time to breathe clean? Environment ministers of 4 states skip key meeting

Reuters Photo

New Delhi: Steps taken by states to control stubble burning "are far from satisfactory", Union minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday as environment ministers of four states around Delhi, including Haryana and Punjab, where the practice is rampant, skipped a crucial meet to discuss measures to stop air pollution levels from deteriorating further.

With Delhi's air quality plummeting to "very poor" category, Vardhan stressed the need for an "aggressive" plan to combat air pollution in Delhi.

He underlined that despite a decrease in incidents of stubble burning by 30 per cent from the previous year, more needs to be done.

Officials from four states - Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh - and Delhi's Environment Minister Imran Hussain took part in the meet, where Vardhan asked the Delhi government to ensure 100 per cent stoppage of open burning of domestic and industrial wastes.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal questioned in a tweet the absence of environment ministers of the neighbouring states. "Why didn't ministers from other states attend? Its a collective problem and I urge everyone to please work together. Only then can we find a soln (sic)."

Why didn’t ministers from other states attend? Its a collective problem and I urge everyone to please work together. Only then can we find a soln. https://t.co/KSmR5deJDb — Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 1, 2018

Hussain asserted that Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh should also show seriousness in curbing the increasing air pollution in the National Capital Region.

However, Vardhan said the issue of air pollution "should not be politicised" and everyone should give their full cooperation to protect the environment.

The Union environment minister had called a meeting of environment ministers of neighbouring states of Delhi to discuss the air pollution situation in Delhi.

Hussain said the Delhi government has been urging the central government to intervene and give farmers resources so they do not have to depend on stubble burning.

"Today also, you saw that ministers from Haryana, Punjab, UP and Rajasthan did not attend the meeting by the Union Environment Minister. Seriousness is needed to deal with the issue of increasing pollution in the national capital," he said.

Delhi's air quality was on the brink of turning severe as the overall air quality index was recorded at 393, only seven points shy of falling in the severe category, forcing authorities to enforce an emergency plan to tackle air pollution on Thursday.

Amid a rise in health-related problems due to air pollution, Vardhan launched a manual on asthma detailing how school administration must behave in case of an emergency.

The manual is a compilation of simple, easy-to-understand information on childhood asthma and the best practices that schools can implement to provide a safe and supportive environment for children.

Vardhan also launched an "aggressive" 10-day clean air campaign from November 1-10, reiterating that criminal proceedings against defaulters will be initiated in case of repeat violations.

He flagged off 52 teams to monitor and report polluting activities and ensure action. These teams will visit parts of Delhi and its adjacent towns of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Noida. While Delhi has 44 teams in NCR, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad have two teams each.

After chairing the meeting Thursday, Vardhan said the steps taken by the state governments to control stubble burning are far from satisfactory.

"In Punjab only, daily cases of stubble burning were still running into thousands," he said, calling for effective steps to be taken "aggressively" by state governments to control the practice.

"More needs to be done to protect the environment and cooperation from administration and public is required for it," he said.

He also directed Delhi government and NCR states to ensure 100 per cent stoppage of open burning of domestic and industrial wastes. Vardhan said active participation from all agencies will be required to ensure that quick action is taken on the cases of violations reported by field teams.

The air quality is expected to deteriorate further around Diwali due to local factors and regional causes such as stubble burning, mainly in Punjab and Haryana.

He said the Central Pollution Control Board has also put up guidelines for the public to file complaints of air pollution in Delhi-NCR on its social media page, website and through its mobile app.

"We are receiving 100 complaints every day on these apps which is a good sign of people participation," he said. "The government can make policies and rules but it is the people who can play a role in implementing it," he told reporters.

A mechanism of implementation score to quantify the remediation actions, based on the observation or report of CPCB teams has also been devised.

The scores, however, indicate that actions on ground are not even 10 per cent of the incidents, Vardhan said adding the implementation scores of measures to combat air pollution are "not very good".

Since September 15, construction activities, open dumping or burning of wastes and others have been observed during inspection visit of CPCB.