To reduce air pollution in the Capital this winter, the Delhi Government will be launching a ‘Green Delhi app’. The app will allow users to flag violations including burning of waste or any polluting vehicles.
Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister, said a photo-based complaint lodging app will be launched to take action against pollution activities notified by citizens. He highlighted that the app is being developed and would be launched by the end of the month. “It will be a photo-based complaint lodging application to take action against and redress specific pollution activities,” he said. “We are starting a campaign against pollution, ‘Yudh Pradushan Ke Virudh’ to reduce pollution levels in the national capital. As part of the campaign, we’ll be using a technology developed by Pusa Agriculture Institute to curb the menance of stubble burning.” Kejriwal said as a pollution control measure, an anti-dust campaign is being initiated by the state administration to settle dust especially at construction sites. He added that a new policy would be brought, under which any agency that cuts down trees will have to plant 80 per cent of them at a new spot.
Besides the national capital, the neighboring states of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan also get covered by thick pollution due to stubble burning. To address this issue, the Pusa Agriculture Institute developed a new technology to decompose straw in the fields. Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar had said that the five states had been asked to come up with action plans, and Delhi to focus on its 13 pollution hotspots. He pointed out that there are several factors than stubble burning which cause pollution in the national capital, including garbage burning, dust and unpaved roads. “The central government has given machines to destroy crop residue. ICAR and Pusa’s decomposer technology will be tried in the states this year on trial basis,” the minister said. “We are encouraging the use of Bio CNG and bio-power BS-VI compliant vehicles have been introduced, measures have been taken but more needs to be done.”
