Air purifiers to be installed in 10,000 classrooms in first phase: Delhi Education Minister

New Delhi: Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Friday announced that air purifiers will be installed in 10,000 classrooms to ensure clean air for students.

Addressing a press conference, Sood said that the government is committed towards tackling the pollution problem through long-term administrative reforms and policy measures.

"We are not those who flaunt IIT degrees and do campaigns like Odd-Even or 'Red Light On, Gaadi Off' campaign. We are tackling the issue of pollution through long-term administrative measures rather than treating it as a PR exercise," he said, taking a dig at the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.

The Odd-Even scheme, first introduced by the AAP government under the then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, was implemented twice in 2016, from January 1 to 15 and again from April 15 to 30.

The scheme aimed to curb vehicular pollution by restricting the movement of private vehicles based on the last digit of their registration numbers.

According to Sood, there are roughly 38,000 classrooms in Delhi, and air purifiers will be installed in them in a phased manner.

"We want our children to study smart and breathe smart air. In the first phase, air purifiers will be installed in 10,000 classrooms. Tenders have been floated today," he added.

Official data shows there are 1,047 government and government-aided schools.

The minister, who also holds the urban development portfolio, said the Public Works Department, using the environment cess, will also procure mechanical road sweepers for each of the assembly constituencies.

"MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) is being provided money to procure mechanical road sweepers. The AAP government did nothing for the MCD. Salaries were not released for sanitation workers. They were at the helm in MCD for two years, but what did they do?" he asked.

Citing a CAG report, Sood said that in 2017-18, 30 per cent of air quality monitoring stations were deliberately installed in green areas to conceal the actual pollution levels.

He said the weather conditions in surrounding states determine the weather in Delhi.

"We are committed towards elimination of pollution. I want to assure the people of Delhi that we are taking all possible steps, the results of which will be shown on the ground very soon," he added.

The minister said pollution in Delhi is not a seasonal issue, but an outcome of years of administrative negligence. He accused the previous government of misleading public through advertisements and manipulated data instead of delivering real solutions.

Sood said that from October 11 this year, the use of recycled construction material has been made mandatory in construction works, and payments for civil works will not be released without compliance.

The Bhalswa landfill is targeted for complete remediation by September 2026 and a tender has been floated for the disposal of 18 lakh metric tonnes of waste.

Biogas plants have been commissioned at Nangli Sakrawati and Ghoga dairies for scientific disposal of dairy waste.

The Rs 45 crore Electric Vehicle subsidy, withheld by the previous government, has been cleared by the current government.

Bottlenecks in projects such as Metro Phase-IV and RRTS are being removed to strengthen public transport, the minister added.