Senior Officials Skip Delhi Pollution Control Meeting, Environment Minister Writes To CM Kejriwal

Senior officials in Delhi skipped a meeting called by the Environment Minister in view of the increasing air pollution. Gopal Raihas asked Delhi CM to convene a meeting of the NCCSA and appoint officers who would work to reduce the air pollution.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai

Source : PTI

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai wrote a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday regarding the non-attendance of officials in the meeting which was called in view of the increasing pollution in the national capital. The Environment Minister, in his letter, also sought to convene a meeting of the National Capital Civil Service Authority (NCCSA) and appoint officers who would work to reduce pollution effectively.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai wrote a letter to Arvind Kejriwal regarding the non-attendance of Delhi's officials in the meeting called in view of increasing pollution. He also demanded to convene a meeting of NCCSA and appoint officers who work to reduce pollution… pic.twitter.com/ZzbcXOvaI6

— ANI (@ANI) October 23, 2023

Rai in the letter wrote, "A K Singh, Principal Secretary of the Environment Department; Ashwani Kumar, DPCC Chairman and Principal Secretary of the Revenue Department; and Ashish Kundra, Transport Commissioner, did not attend the important meeting today. Their absence makes it extremely difficult to make any significant decisions and ensure their implementation. Therefore, I request that, in order to effectively address the serious pollution situation, a meeting of the National Capital Civil Service Authority should be convened as soon as possible, and officers who are sensitive to the issue of pollution and can actively work to reduce pollution should be appointed."

The worsening Air Quality Index of the national capital has the government concerned. Stubble burning has been on the rise recently with farmers in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana burning the residues of their crops to clear the field for the new plantation.

Earlier in the day, Rai informed the Delhi government that the second phase of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has begun with the aim of reducing the effect of increased pollution. 

The meeting today was called with all the concerned departments in connection to the execution of the GRAP phase 2 in Delhi. 

The Delhi Minister, while talking to news agency ANI, said, "The cold has started increasing in Delhi and the speed of the wind has decreased, this may result in an increase in pollution... The particulate matter is staying near the ground. The second phase of GRAP has been implemented in Delhi... A meeting has been called with all the concerned departments to discuss the execution of the GRAP phase 2."

He added, "The weather is not in our hands but the sources need to be controlled so that the effect of pollution on the health of the people is reduced as much as possible."

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