New Delhi: The air quality in the Capital teetered on the edge of slipping into the "poor" category with the Central monitoring agency SAFAR reporting an AQI of 217 as of Thursday evening — with PM 2.5 and PM 10 content emerging as the lead pollutant in the air here.
And as the last of the showers recede — clearing the way for farmers to burn crop residue with peak harvest season approaching — Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday said that the city government will do whatever it takes to control pollution, including implementing emergency prohibitions as part of the GRAP, if need be.
However, Rai went on to say, "The pollution due to stubble burning cannot be controlled by implementing GRAP. We had urged the Centre and
states to spray PUSA bio-decomposer (a microbial solution that can turn stubble into manure in 15 to 20 days) to prevent stubble burning. If it was sprayed responsibly, farmers would not have had to indulge in stubble burning."
The Environment Minister was speaking at a gathering of MLAs, who had started advocating the Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign on Thursday at the Chandgi Ram Akhara intersection here in an effort to increase public participation in reducing vehicular emissions.
"If the need arises, we will bring in GRAP. Whatever needs to be done, we will do to control pollution in Delhi. But I pray to the Centre with folded hands to work towards stopping stubble burning. Otherwise, despite the efforts of Delhiites, they will have to face pollution due to stubble burning," he said.
SAFAR on Wednesday noted that with the rains finally receding from north India and the peak harvest season approaching, stubble burning count is slated to go up — even though the numbers were relatively lower compared to last year's, adding that the share of stubble in Delhi's polluted air would also increase in tandem with this.
In the meantime, the Delhi government is focusing on reducing vehicular pollution and running aggressive campaigns to contain dust and other internal sources of pollution. In fact, Delhi's councillors have also been invited to raise awareness about the Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign from October 25 onwards
The minister added they will be holding a meeting with the SDMs and scientists of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) on Friday to discuss how to make this a wider campaign.
"This campaign will be taken ahead to the Mohalla level. In the meeting tomorrow, based on the decision taken, we will take up the scale of the campaign to a higher level," he added.