3 months ago
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The Commission for Air Quality Management successful National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) subordinate caput talks astir the displacement of absorption from workplace fires to the transport assemblage and says the sheet does not privation to acceptable aerial contamination targets, successful an interrogation with The Hindu. Edited excerpts:
How bash you measure anti-air contamination efforts this wintertime season?
Actions taken by the committee and different stakeholders person brought affirmative changes that are evident. One of the biggest changes has been successful the signifier of stubble burning. The fig of workplace fires has declined. We person not seen galore days with AQI (air prime index) beyond 450. That gives america affirmative signals.
What bash you deliberation worked?
We conducted galore inspections of concern facilities and operation sites. We besides acted against industries successful non-conforming areas that were violating norms.
What is the people for reducing aerial pollution?
Over the adjacent 5 years, we tin enactment hard to execute a important reduction. But we don’t privation to spell retired a circumstantial target.
Why has the contented not been solved contempt 2 SC-monitored panels – the CAQM, constituted successful 2020, and its predecessor, founded successful 1998 – moving connected it?
Eight crore radical unrecorded successful the NCR, which is much than the colonisation of galore countries. We indispensable strive for a good equilibrium betwixt concerns specified arsenic improvement and employment, and the request to support the aerial clean. Gains were made implicit the years, but immoderate of those were offset by the spike successful colonisation and vehicles.
What are the main challenges successful reducing pollution?
Ensuring a concerted effort involving each stakeholder, from the idiosyncratic who sweeps the roadworthy to the astir elder bureaucrat. It is simply a humongous effort. Data suggest a inclination of simplification successful pollution. But we are not claiming it arsenic a victory. It is an encouraging inclination that shows reducing aerial contamination is possible.
Initially, determination was a batch of absorption connected stubble burning, little connected the transport sector. Will that alteration now?
There has already been a displacement of absorption connected transport. That’s wherefore we’re talking astir the nationalist proscription strategy and controlling vehicular pollution. Other absorption areas are roadworthy particulate and industries.
In 2024, the SC criticised the CAQM for not taking enactment against officials who failed to guarantee adherence to norms. Has the sheet taken enactment against immoderate authoritative since?
We person issued show-cause notices (to officials). Further enactment was not required successful astir cases, arsenic whenever we issued show-cause notices, remedial measures were undertaken swiftly.
The CAQM said 2025 was the cleanest twelvemonth successful Delhi successful 8 years, but for 2020. However, determination are allegations of ‘data manipulation’ astatine aerial prime measuring stations by spraying h2o adjacent the sensors.
We person regular AQI information from the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board). The CPCB and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee support the aerial prime monitoring stations successful Delhi. They tin amended explicate the functioning of these stations.
A question has been raised astir the reliability of claims of simplification successful stubble burning, with reported instances of it being carried retired successful ways that evade satellites. As per authoritative data, burnt areas accrued successful Punjab and Haryana successful 2023 and again successful 2024 successful Punjab.
We don’t trust lone connected stubble burning data. Data connected burnt areas besides amusement a simplification successful Punjab and Haryana. I’m not going into circumstantial data. Yes, the simplification successful ‘burnt area’ is not arsenic important arsenic the ‘fire counts’, which indicates that determination person been evasions [by farmers]. But determination is regular feedback from our crushed teams astir a alteration successful stubble burning. Moreover, the magnitude of stubble utilized for different activities alternatively than being acceptable afire is besides increasing. A batch of the stubble being burnt close present is lone partially burnt, with the remainder utilized for different purposes.
