8 months ago
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NEW DELHI
The Delhi authorities has announced an innovation situation offering currency rewards of up to ₹50 lakh to start-ups, researchers, and exertion developers who tin devise “practical and scalable” solutions to combat the Capital’s aerial contamination problem, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said connected Friday.
Addressing a property conference, Mr. Sirsa said the situation volition absorption connected 2 cardinal areas – reducing conveyance emissions and capturing PM2.5 and PM10 particles from ambient air. “This year, Delhi recorded the highest fig of clean-air days successful the past decade. But we privation each time to beryllium a clean-air day. Enforcement unsocial won’t get america there; this is simply a 24x7 innovation mission,” Mr. Sirsa said.
According to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), Delhi recorded its champion mean Air Quality Index (AQI) successful 8 years, barring the lockdown twelvemonth of 2020. The metropolis did not grounds a azygous ‘severe’ (AQI supra 400) time successful the archetypal 9 months of 2025. Under the caller scheme, individuals, start-ups, probe institutions, universities, and exertion developers with moving prototypes acceptable for tract objection tin use until October 31. Shortlisted participants volition person ₹5 lakh each and escaped proceedings opportunities aft the 2nd stage. “Solutions that walk validation by IITs and nationalist labs and conscionable our deployment standards volition beryllium awarded ₹50 lakh and considered for citywide implementation,” Mr. Sirsa said.
Anti-smog initiative
Earlier successful the day, Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena launched an automatic anti-smog misting strategy successful Dwarka. Installed on a 7-km agelong from Sector 10 to 21, the strategy uses 166 streetlight poles fitted with 30 misting nozzles each to trim particulate and good pollutants. “Every winter, Delhi faces terrible aerial pollution. I entreaty to the radical to articulation the government’s efforts. Even tiny actions tin person a large interaction connected the city’s aerial quality,” Mr. Saxena said.
Centre-State synergy
Meanwhile, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav connected Friday directed agencies and State governments to intensify on-ground measures to curb aerial contamination successful Delhi-NCR.
Chairing a high-level reappraisal gathering connected aerial prime management, he emphasised the request for beardown coordination betwixt Central and State authorities. Mr. Yadav besides asked the CAQM to collaborate with the Delhi authorities for improved utilisation of operation and demolition waste.
(With PTI inputs)
