Trucks to be kept out of Delhi during Games

“There is already a Court ban on non-destined trucks entering Delhi. But this is not followed. We have written to the MCD and the Transport department to ban these trucks from coming into Delhi,” said Environment Secretary Dharmendra. “Later on,when the East-West corridor opens,we will anyway have these big vehicles skirting Delhi,” he added.

His department is also working with the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) to find other ways of keeping pollution down. One of the suggestions is to ask neighbouring states to only allow vehicles with Pollution Under Control (PUC) certification to enter Delhi.

“We have also written to the Power department to see if they can suspend the working of Rajghat power station,which is in the heart of the city and contributes substantially to pollution. We want to explore if Delhi can borrow power from other states to make up,” he said.

Meanwhile,during the period,several agencies will work together on new methods to give an accurate projection of pollution levels in the city. Working with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB),six new stations to monitor air quality are being set up at the airport,Anand Vihar (which has a major railway and bus stations),Birla Mandir,Punjabi Bagh,Delhi Secretariat and R K Puram.

The CPCB will use data collected here and combine it with meteorological inputs on air pressure,humidity and wind direction to forecast pollution for up to 48 hours.

Newsline had reported earlier how air pollution in Delhi has reached critical levels,going back to pre-CNG days,especially due to the rapid growth in the number of private vehicles.