Pollution: 83 marshals deployed to check breach of environmental laws

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court appointed environment watchdog EPCA on Friday held a meeting with the Delhi government following which the government wrote a letter to the Centre asking it to take action against the neighbouring states for burning stubble. The Delhi government also deployed 83 marshals for reporting the incidents of violation of environmental laws.

Meanwhile, Delhi's air quality remained poor on Friday

"Your kind attention was also drawn towards our past experiences wherein particulate matters like PM2.5 and PM10, gaseous pollutants like N02. CO, secondary pollutant like NH3 exhibit an increasing trend in the month of October-November, that coincides with agricultural crop burning in neighboring states," wrote Delhi environment minister Imran Hussain to Union environment minister Harsh Vardhan. Hussain also said in the letter, various media reports recently published indicate that the incidence of crop stubble burning is likely to increase in the neighboring states despite various measures claimed by the States Governments to control stubble burning. "It has also been prominently reported in the newspapers that it would be convenient to pay fines for stubble burning than to adopt other measures," the letter read.

Hussain observed, "In this backdrop, the intervention of Government of India to direct the concerned authorities in the neighbouring states of Delhi, particularly Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and UP to take preventive, precautionary and controlling measures for air pollution resulting from crop residue burning, so that the air pollution levels in Delhi and NCR may be restricted during the critical period."

Explaining the deployment of the environment marshals a statement from the Delhi government noted, "With the approaching festive season and onset of winters, the incidents of burning plastic, waste material, garbage etc and violation other environmental laws may increase. In order to tackle this situation effectively, it may be appropriate to depute Environment Marshals in New Delhi Municipal Council and each of the 272 Municipal Wards in Delhi. Environment Department is accordingly directed to take immediate necessary action on the matter."