NEW DELHI: With the temperature rising, the Delhi government has decided to start a plantation drive throughout the Capital. The plantation drive should be completed before the monsoon, asserted environment minister Imran Hussain.
He also directed Environment and Forest secretary Anil Kumar Singh to submit the action taken report to him within a week.
The move came two days after Hussain had written to different agencies, urging them to take up vertical gardening in a big way for reducing air pollution in the capital.
Earlier this week, Hussain had written to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Public Works Department and also the municipal corporations urging them to increase the green cover in the city.
"Green cover can also be enhanced by undertaking vertical gardening activities on buildings, flyovers, spaces and columns underneath the flyovers. This will help in neutralising air pollution due to dust and vehicular pollution," Hussain had written in his letter.
Last week, LG Anil Baijal, in a meeting, had directed the municipal corporations and the DDA to come up with vertical gardens on flyovers and irrigate them with non-potable water only. He had also stressed on developing green parks on vacant gram sabha lands to achieve the goal of "Green Delhi".
Meanwhile, the Capital on Thursday experienced the warmest day of the year so far with the average maximum temperature recorded at 42 degree Celsius, three notches above the season's average.
According to weather analysts, warm and dry westerly winds coming from eastern Rajasthan – currently the warmest place in India with 44.5 degree Celsius – is the reason behind the abnormal warming for past three days. Delhi's air-quality saw a drastic drop over past four days going from 'moderate' on Monday to 'very-poor' on Thursday.
The AQI crossing 400 marks labelled 'severe' at Rohini and Wazirpur (441) in the north-west, Anand Vihar (407) and Jahangirpuri (404) in the east, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Meanwhile, Siri Fort (399) and Okhla (396) in the south, Major Dhyan Chand Stadium (396) in central and Ashok Vihar in northwest Delhi were among other most polluted regions with near-severe air-quality.