Minister tells Centre pollution knows no borders, NCR-wide action needed

“Several towns of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh fall within the NCR and may I request you to ask them to set-up joint check posts well within their territories to ensure that overloaded vehicles can be checked and turned back before they enter Delhi and prepare an action plan on the lines of the one under preparation in Delhi,” Khan wrote in his letter.

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He said there are reports that scientific studies indicate “Delhi is receiving pollution from neighbouring towns and industries present in NCR”.

“Checking air pollution must be treated on priority basis by all authorities concerned and should not become a subject of political wrangling,” Khan said.

Khan also wrote in his letter that an action plan to improve the air quality in the national capital, as recommended by a committee headed by former chief secretary of Delhi was sent to the union ministry of environment, forests and climate change in February.

The committee’s recommendations were accepted by Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung on August 1, 2014. Among several broad measures suggested by the committee, it had also said that entry and exit of non-destined vehicles in Delhi need to be regulated and “trans-shipment zones need to be set up in bordering areas to avoid entry of such goods in the city”.

Khan said in his letter that as a follow-up of this action plan, the departments concerned including the DDA, MCD, NDMC and the Delhi Police “have been requested to prepare time-bound implementation plans. The departments concerned are working on the action points identified for them”.

The minister, however, added, “This action plan was limited to the areas in which the Delhi government can check the rise of air pollution. This action plan specifically focused on short term and long term measures to control air pollution in the national capital.”

Improvement of air quality in Delhi, Khan said, will require “comprehensive, coordinated and integrated efforts,” while accounting the emissions from the neighbouring states and from Delhi to understand the causal relationship between emissions and their impact on air quality.

Khan requested the Union Ministry of Environment to take up “the initiative to coordinate source specific pollution control activities in a holistic manner to check the sources of emission in the NCR”.