Delhi govt to start one-month campaign against industrial pollution

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday said the city's government is going to start a month-long campaign against industrial pollution in the national capital from 20 October onward.

Rai’s statement came after a review meeting at the Delhi secretariat regarding industrial pollution with officers of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the Environment Department and the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC).

According to the minister, the campaign will run until 20 November. Under this campaign, 66 teams of the DPCC and the DSIIDC have been constituted for continuous inspection of industrial units in Delhi and 1,753 registered industrial units of Delhi have been converted into Piped Natural Gas (PNG).

“In order to address the issue of pollution during the winter season, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal declared a Winter Action Plan comprising 15 focus points on 29 September. The Winter Action Plan has initiated efforts to enhance air quality in Delhi through monitoring of industrial pollution and its waste management,” said Rai.

“Under the Industrial Pollution Campaign, it has been decided to deploy patrolling teams to monitor the dumping of industrial waste in the whole of Delhi. Total 66 teams of the DPCC and DSIIDC have been deployed for continuous inspection of industrial units.

“The teams will oversee all industrial units in Delhi and implement immediate measures to curb industrial waste and pollution,” he said.

“Periodic reports will be submitted to the Environment Department based on their findings. The DPCC team has been instructed to take strict action against any violation of environmental regulations by industrial units,” said Rai.