New Delhi: Delhi Environment, Development, and General Administration Minister Gopal Rai on Saturday (October 7) launched an anti-dust campaign to combat air pollution in Delhi. The Delhi Minister also informed that the first phase of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has been implemented in Delhi aimed at curbing dust pollution in the capital. Talking to ANI, Minister Rai said,
Under this campaign, 591 teams from 13 departments have been deployed for inspection across Delhi. They will start checking campaigns wherever there is dust on the roads so as to stop dust pollution. As part of the “Anti-Dust Campaign,” more than 500 water sprinklers have been deployed to combat dust pollution.
The month-long drive to fight dust pollution in Delhi started from October 7 and will continue till November 7 under the winter action plan. Minister Rai added,
The government has released 14 action points to all construction agencies, including government and private, to control dust pollution in the city. I have visited Wazirpur, which is a hotspot area, and talked with the officials there to investigate major sources of pollution.
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Earlier on Friday, the Delhi government issued an official statement that it is mandatory to do self-registration of all construction sites above 500 square meters on the C&D portal while announcing the campaign.
The decision was taken in a meeting presided over by Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday. Minister Rai said,
Air pollution in Delhi is improving steadily due to the stringent steps taken by the Delhi government under the leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The government’s efforts have resulted in a decline of 30 per cent in air pollution levels in Delhi. Consequently, to address the issue of pollution during the winter months, the Chief Minister unveiled a 15-point winter action plan on 29 September. To bring further improvement in air pollution in Delhi, as a part of the winter action plan, our government is starting the anti-dust campaign in Delhi from 7th October.
The environment minister also said,
Dust pollution arising from construction sites proves to be very harmful to the health of the people. To address this issue, the Construction and Demolition Portal was introduced. All construction sites that cover an area of 500 square meters or more are required to self-register on this portal. The aim of this campaign is to ensure that all active C&D sites are registered on the portal. DPCC will examine the self-assessment reports of all registered sites on the portal.
Minister Gopal Rai also said that instructions have been issued to the departments to continuously monitor the construction sites. To achieve this, the relevant departments have been instructed to monitor construction sites regularly. He added,
If construction sites violate any rules, the department will take appropriate action as per the NGT directions.
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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
