New Delhi: As Delhi's air quality on Friday remained in the "severe" category with a blanket of haze covering the city, the Delhi government announced that it had constituted an expert 15-member panel to look into the effectiveness of the Pusa bio-decomposing technology as an alternative to stubble burning.
Weather and pollution experts in the government said that Friday's pollution was largely attributable to a "very high number of farm fires in Punjab".
The city's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 406. On Thursday, the AQI was 450, the highest since November 15 last year, when it was 458. The neighbouring cities of Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida and Gurugram also recorded "very poor" to "severe" air
quality.
The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi said the farm fire count in Punjab (around 5,100) remained very high on Thursday and it is likely to impact the air quality of Delhi-NCR and other parts of northwest India.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitor, SAFAR, said the share of stubble burning in Delhi's PM2.5 pollution was estimated at 21 percent on Friday. It was 42 percent on Thursday, the maximum this season
so far. Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the panel to observe the impact of the bio-decomposing solution will have five MLAs, and officials from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, and the Agriculture
Department.
According to scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, the solution can turn crop residue into manure in 15 to 20 days and therefore, can prevent stubble burning.
The committee has been asked to submit an assessment report to the government within a week, which will be presented before the Supreme Court after Diwali.
Rai hoped that the newly-constituted Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas will ensure that other "states also use the cost-effective Pusa bio-decomposer to prevent stubble burning".
"There is pollution due to local sources as well, but emissions from stubble burning and firecrackers make the situation worse in Delhi," he said.
As for the cracker ban, Rai said, "We have called a meeting on Monday to discuss an action plan to ensure implementation of the ban on firecrackers." For starters, he said, those violating the ban can be fined up to Rs 1 lakh.