Delhi pollution woes: Principal secretary calls for action on landfills

New Delhi: The principal secretary to the Prime Minister, PK Mishra, criticized the Delhi government over the slow progress in clearing landfill sites and delays in the implementation of waste-to-energy projects. Chairing a high-level meeting over Delhi’s air pollution, he said that dust control measures should be controlled at construction sites and it is essential to improve waste management practice.

Mishra urged authorities to check the open burning of waste and promote greenery beside the roads to combat dust and pollution. He reviewed the preparation made by the Delhi government and its long- and short-term strategies on reducing the air pollution in the city.

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In the high-level meeting, senior officials of the central government and the Delhi administration discussed different issues to overcome the challenge of the pollution crisis. Delhi’s chief secretary said that construction dust, biomass burning, vehicle emissions, and so on are the sources of escalating air pollution in Delhi. The situation turns poor during the winter when air quality worsens.

He further added that the Delhi government is not sitting idle but taking several steps, such as introducing more electric buses, the installation of more charging stations, road cleaning, and trying to control dust and stop waste burning. Mishra stressed the need to take stern steps to combat air pollution in the city.

He said that it is time to raise the deployment of anti-smog guns, sprinkle water, especially in pollution hotspots, and during periods under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). The call was made to take action immediately, as Delhi is not far away from experiencing another poor air quality in the coming winter.