We are going to be more aggressive this year to fight pollution: Gopal Rai

As the air quality in the national capital turned ‘poor’ on Wednesday, for the first time since June this year, HT spoke to Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on the government’s action plan to control pollution, which coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic, may pose a big public health crisis. Excerpts:

Q. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced a mega plan to control pollution. How is it going to be different from your efforts in the past to reduce pollution?

A. We have been working on it for the past five years and have become the first state to have reduced pollution levels by 25% despite increasing traffic and economic activity. This year, because of the pandemic, we are going to be even more aggressive. We are working on a war footing. Unlike last year, we have prepared specific action plans to target major sources of pollution. For instance, an anti-dust campaign has already been launched. Then we have initiated preparation of an anti-stubble burning solution, which will be sprayed across 800 hectares of farmland in Delhi where crop residue is burnt.

Q. But farmers have said that they know little about the new technology. Do you think that the drive should have been launched at least a month ahead of the harvest period?

A. We had been pursuing it for a long time with the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Pusa, who have developed the technology. The consultations had been going on for long but due to the pandemic, the work was slightly delayed. We have already started creating awareness and around 1,200 farmers have already registered with us for spraying the solution in their fields. We will also ensure that harvest and sowing is not delayed. The farmers can start sowing rabi crops within three days of the solution being sprayed on the field. It will also increase the fertility of the soil. We will set an example for neighbouring states on how to curb stubble burning.

Q. The construction activities are picking up slowly after the Covid-induced lockdown. How do you plan to implement the ban on construction, under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap)?

A. This year the situation is peculiar because of the lockdown and the resultant economic slowdown. Now that economic activity has started picking up gradually, we will have to consider all aspects. We will not take any step without having a dialogue with the people. We will find out a way to resolve the situation as and when it arises and with proper public consultation.

Q. Last year, the odd-even road rationing scheme was announced in October. Any plans of introducing it this year given the fact that public transport has resumed fully now?

A. Again, this year is different because of the pandemic. It is a measure taken in emergency-like situations. Also, since we are familiar with the implementation strategy now, even if it has to be brought in, it won’t take us long to prepare. This year, we have added 1,200 new buses to the state-run fleet and, therefore, implementation should not be an issue. However, currently there are no talks to implement the odd-even plan.

Q. You said Delhi reduced pollution by 25% over the past five years. What are the major focus areas to reduce it further in the future?

A. We have set long-term goals to reduce air pollution levels even further. These include increasing the green cover with massive plantation drives. Even this year, despite the pandemic, we are certain to complete our target of planting 31 lakh saplings by March 2021. Also, the tree transplantation policy is to be approved soon. Experiments have already been done in several areas, where it has been a success. Though there are some problems as well because of different soil conditions at different locations, but they will be resolved in due time. Besides, the electric vehicle (EV) policy is a major step in reducing vehicular emissions and we hope to achieve our target.