New Delhi: Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, chaired a high-level review meeting on air pollution in Delhi-NCR on 11 November, directing all State and UT authorities to submit concrete action-taken reports on their pollution management efforts. Delhi’s Environment Minister, Sardar Manjinder Singh Sirsa, was also present at the meeting.
Yadav demanded district-level plans for managing crop residues and year-round stubble burning monitoring. He emphasised the importance of providing farmers with training and capacity building so they can use Crop Residue Management (CRM) machines and make sure they are easily accessible.
The Minister reaffirmed the government’s “zero-tolerance” policy against burning municipal solid waste (MSW) in the open and urged local officials to set stringent deadlines for filling in the gaps in legacy waste management and expediting its disposal.
Yadav emphasised the necessity of concerted efforts and urged NCR cities to exchange waste management best practices rather than operating independently. Additionally, he oversaw the mission-mode installation of Air Pollution Control Devices (APCD) and Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) in red-category industries. He examined plans for road redevelopment in urban and industrial areas to reduce road dust, emphasising the importance of timely and high-quality project completion.
The Minister also called for plugging processing gaps in construction and demolition (C&D) waste, promoting joint efforts by government and private stakeholders. Stressing on green initiatives, Yadav asked local bodies to undertake roadside greening and develop saplings in coordination with forest departments.
He further urged Delhi Traffic Police to draft management plans for congestion hotspots and expedite Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) implementation to reduce vehicular emissions.
The meeting saw participation from representatives of CAQM, CPCB and governments of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, along with municipal commissioners of NCR cities.
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