Delhi L-G urges neighboring states to address crop residue burning for air quality improvement

New Delhi: Delhi L-G, VK Saxena on Tuesday requested all neighboring states to work together to address the annual air pollution issue in the NCR region.

Air pollution issues, particularly due to the burning of crop residues (parali), dominated discussions concerning Delhi during the Northern Zonal Council which was held in Amritsar.

Delhi L-G, V.K Saxena, informed the council that a template of these efforts had been developed and could be used by all other States and Union Territories.

He emphasised that despite the issue being raised in the previous zonal council meeting in Jaipur in 2022, it remained unaddressed, particularly by Punjab.

He also highlighted the efforts of other states like Rajasthan, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh (which is not part of NZC) in tackling the problem and expressed concern that smoke from Punjab continued to contribute to severe air pollution in the National Capital.

He said that Delhi had implemented various measures, including end-to-end carpeting and greening of pavements, construction activity bans, and the use of water sprinklers and anti-smog guns during peak pollution periods.

The introduction of 500 electric buses into the public transport system was also mentioned by the L-G during the meeting.

He urged neighboring states to employ technology interventions to address air pollution at its source.

The L-G office said that other issues discussed concerning Delhi included increasing water supply from dams in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and addressing pollution in the Yamuna River, particularly due to drains from Gurugram, Bahadurgarh, and Sonepat in Haryana.

The L-G emphasised the need to expedite agreements related to the dams to address Delhi's water shortage.

He also praised Haryana for its efforts in trapping and diverting water for treatment, reducing pollution in the Najafgarh Drain and the Yamuna.

The meeting also addressed inter-state security issues, including drug trafficking, cybercrime, and the movement of criminals across porous borders.

The L-G stressed over the importance of inter-state cooperation in dealing with problems and issues in Delhi that have inter-state dimensions.