Air Of Indifference? Delhi Minister Criticises Union Govt's 'Silence' On Toxic Smog

(MENAFN- Live Mint) New Delhi: Delhi environment Minister Gopal Rai criticised the union government on Monday, saying its silence would not solve the problem of deteriorating air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The criticism comes after the Supreme Court lambasted the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for delaying the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) III and IV, saying it failed to tackle air pollution in Delhi and neighbouring states.

The air quality index (AQI) in Delhi worsened from 441 on Sunday to 494 on Monday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). It has been in the 'severe' category (above 400) since last Wednesday.

Also read: Centre to tighten rules for State Pollution Control Board Chairman appointments

“Air quality is worsening in the National Capital Region and the union environment minister is silent,” Rai said at a press conference after a meeting with heads of various departments on Monday was postponed from noon to 3pm.“The union ministry must break its silence and help to mitigate worsening air quality in Delhi,” he added.

Rai said,“After a rise in the pollution level in Delhi, we had called a meeting of senior officers of the departments concerned at noon for implementation of GRAP-IV. But there is such negligence that despite pollution rising to dangerous levels, no senior officer arrived for the meeting. So we had to cancel it. We sent notices to these leaders once again for a 3 pm meeting,” Rai added.

The union government is likely to hold a ministry-level meeting on Tuesday to tackle air pollution in NCR, officials told Mint on the condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, 11 flights scheduled to land at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport were diverted to other cities on Monday owing to low visibility. These flights were diverted under the 'Captain Minima' operating procedures, which specify the minimum operating standards that pilots must meet for landing. On Monday morning the airport issued an advisory to passengers that said flight operations could be affected and that 'low visibility procedures' were still in force.

At 8 am on Monday, CAQM
activated stage-IV of GRAP, an eight-point plan that, among other things, bans trucks from entering Delhi unless they are carrying essential commodities or providing essential services, and requires schools to switch to online classes. While censuring CAQM on Monday, the Supreme Court said schools would remain shut across the NCR and that GRAP-IV restrictions would remain in place until further orders.

Also read | Manu Joseph: Why national pride has not cleaned up Delhi's air

On 23 October the court had criticised the union government for allegedly making the environment protection law toothless amid worsening air quality in Delhi and the NCR.

While schools in Delhi have stopped in-person classes for Std 1 to 9 and Std 11, the court asked Delhi and neighbouring states to take a call on online classes for all students and inform it of their decision by Friday.

Every winter, Delhi and its surrounding regions are blanketed in toxic smog, made worse by the burning of leftover straw in farms in neighbouring states and the bursting of firecrackers during Diwali.

To be sure, the number of stubble burning events in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh fell to 27,319 between 15 September and 18 November from 50,348 in the same period last year, according to data from CREAMS-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, which monitors stubble burning through satellite data.

Also read | Our AQI woes: Why farmers still burn stubble

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