Tackling Delhi Pollution Requires Support From Centre, Neighbouring States: AAP Minister

The problem of pollution in Delhi can only be solved through teamwork, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Sunday as he urged the Centre to give permission for artificial rain during winter, when the city’s air quality plummets.

Addressing a press conference, Mr Rai said though the Delhi government has taken several steps to solve the problem, pollution levels in and around the national capital spike in November.

“An emergency situation arises in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The Kejriwal government is working to reduce the pollution levels,” he said.

But November witnesses a spike in pollution levels, he said.

“Last year, IIT-Kanpur submitted a proposal that artificial rain or a cloud seeding experiment could be done in Delhi. It said that financial management and security permissions were needed.

“Last year, there was very little time so permissions could not come through. We held a meeting with experts and I wrote to Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav seeking the Centre’s help,” he added.

Mr Rai said he has requested a meeting with central agencies and IIT Kanpur experts to discuss the proposal for artificial rain.

“In order to use the technology in Delhi, permissions are required from ministries of defence, home and environment, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Special Protection Group, Delhi government, Airports Authority of India, Uttar Pradesh government, India Meteorological Department, Central Pollution Control Board, Archaeological Survey of India and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security,” he said.

“The Centre should support us in this to save the lives of Delhiites. It should hold a meeting with IIT Kanpur experts and Delhi government representatives so that we can move forward rapidly in this direction and get the necessary permissions by November,” he added.

Mr Rai wrote to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav last week, urging the Centre to convene a meeting with all stakeholders to evaluate the feasibility of cloud seeding for artificially inducing rain in Delhi to combat the winter air pollution.

In his letter, Mr Rai said that it was imperative to assess cloud seeding as a potential emergency measure.

At the press conference on Sunday, Mr Rai said tackling the issue of pollution requires teamwork and support from the Centre and neighbouring states.

He cited various measures, including procurement of electric buses and increasing the green cover, taken by the Delhi government to bring down pollution in the city.

He claimed that pollution levels in Delhi have come down by 45 per cent since 2012.

“If the other two parties have suggestions for reducing pollution, we will be happy to implement them,” he said, referring to the BJP and the Congress.

The minister further claimed that his repeated requests to meet the Union environment minister over the last five years have gone unanswered.

“We all know that giving these permissions is not in the hands of the Delhi government alone. We are ready to give whatever permission the Delhi government needs to give.

“When we wrote a letter to the Union environment minister for this, BJP leaders got angry at me and started saying ‘how did you write a letter to the Union environment minister’, ‘you do all the work’,” Mr Rai said.

He urged the central government to prioritise collective action over political differences.

The BJP had on Saturday slammed the Delhi government, accusing it of indulging in “political gimmicks” and “letter game” with the Centre on the issue of air pollution, instead of taking concrete steps to tackle the health hazard.

The ruling AAP had rejected the charge.