Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced a list of measures to be enforced by the state government to curb the soaring pollution in the national capital, including putting all construction projects across the city on hold for the next five days and ordering the shutdown of all schools for the next three days.
Addressing a press conference here after chairing an emergency meeting to take stock of the initiatives being taken to put a dent in the spike in pollution, Kejriwal announced the following emergency measures:
. All construction and demotion works will be shut down for the next five days.
. No Diesel generators to be used for the next 10 days, except in hospital and emergency places.
. The Badarpur Power Plant will be shut down for the next 10 days
. Transportation of fly ash to stop for 10 days
More From This Section
. Vacuum cleaning of roads to begin from 10th November
. Jet sprinkling of roads to begin from Monday
. Landfill sites to be bulldozed, directions have been issued
. Schools shut down for three days.
. Residents ordered to stay indoors as much as they can.
Kejriwal also stated that the return odd-even was possible to keep traffic emissions in check, adding that the possibility of artificial rain was also discussed in the meeting, but it would need the Centre's help in that.
Remaining resolute on his stand that crop burning in the neighbouring states was responsible for the ever-increasing pollution level in Delhi, the Chief Minister added that no immediate relief could be expected as stubble burning continued.
However, earlier in the day Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave rebuked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi Government for accusing neighbouring states over the rising levels of pollution in the national capital.
Speaking to ANI here, Dave stated that according to the satellite images by ISRO, it was clear that the neighbouring states were responsible for only 20 per cent of the pollution, whereas the remaining 80 per cent was strictly from Delhi and mainly due to its garbage problem.
"The issue cannot be solved through blame game. If you start blaming other states then it is nothing but politicisation of the matter. The Centre is ready to help in every possible way as it always has, but the onus lies on the state government to take charge and emerge from the mindset of always blaming others for their problems," Dave said.
Meanwhile, reacting to the allegations by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that pollution in the national capital was primarily due to the stubble burning in Punjab, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal defended saying that farmers in Punjab have been provided with better equipments that can help in cutting of crops in a better way.
"We have asked them several times, not to burn the stubble. We have also given them machines which can help in cutting of crops in a better way, but they do some or the other mistake," Badal told the media.