Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 3
As the severity of air pollution continued to trouble the residents of National Capital Region of Delhi and parts of Northern India, the Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday stepped in and decided that the Chief Secretaries of Delhi, Punjab and Haryana will monitor the situation round-the-clock.
The Principal Secretary, P K Mishra, held a meeting through video conference and will monitor the situation with the states on a daily basis, the PMO officials said. About 300 teams are in the field to reduce pollution and machinery necessary for this work has been distributed to these states.
“The main focus is on 7 industrial clusters and major traffic corridors in the NCR,” the officials said, adding that the Centre is keeping a close watch on polluting units, burning of waste and construction activities.
Besides the top official from PMO and Chief Secretaries, the meeting was attended by Secretaries in the Ministries of Agriculture, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Cabinet Secretariat, Chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board, Director General Indian Meteorological Department.
The meeting comes a day after Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh asked the Prime Minister to find a permanent solution to the problem as the state remained at the receiving end as a major contributor to the issue amid reports that the farmers continue to burn stubble.
As a measure of precaution, the Delhi government announced the commencement of Odd-Even scheme to restrict plying of certain sections of motor vehicles to reduce the air pollution. The scheme will start on November 4 and continue to November 15, with certain exemptions.
The quality of air deteriorated today as the met office said light drizzle on Saturday evening and early Sunday. The overall Air Quality Index recorded in Delhi this morning was 447.
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/2Nc77W8
via Today’s News Headlines
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