All measures, including GRAP, to be taken for controlling pollution: Delhi Environment Minister

Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday said the Delhi government will implement all measures to control pollution in the national capital and it will also put in place steps under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) if the need arises.

The GRAP is a set of emergency measures to be taken to reduce air pollution depending on the level of pollution in Delhi-NCR.

Rai also urged the Centre to talk to states and work on putting an end to stubble burning.

He was speaking at an event at the Chandgi Ram Akhara where all the MLAs had gathered to raise awareness about the ''Red Light On, Gaadi Off'' campaign.

After this, on October 25, the councilors of Delhi will run a public awareness campaign on Barakhamba Road.

''Due to rains, the pollution levels had gone down in Delhi since stubble burning had stopped in neighboring areas. But after the sun has come out, the instances of stubble burning will increase. We are taking all steps to reduce pollution in Delhi and running various campaigns to encourage people's participation,'' he told reporters.

The minister said they will be holding a meeting with the SDMs and scientists of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) on Friday to discuss how to make this a wider campaign.

''This campaign will be taken ahead to the Mohalla level. In the meeting tomorrow, based on the decision taken, we will take up the scale of the campaign to a higher level,'' he added.

Rai said BJP MLAs were also invited to be part of the event.

''Aam Aadmi Party MLAs are present here, but MLAs of other parties have not come. Information about the event was given to all of them. The government is emphasizing on public participation and is running other campaigns, including the anti-dust campaign. Increasing the participation of people in this fight will reduce their share in pollution as well,'' the minister said.

When questioned about the implementation of GRAP to control pollution, he said, ''The pollution due to stubble burning cannot be controlled by implementing GRAP. We had urged the Centre and states to spray PUSA bio-decomposer (a microbial solution that can turn stubble into manure in 15 to 20 days) to prevent stubble burning. If it was sprayed responsibly, farmers would not have had to indulge in stubble burning.'' Rai said the government is also working to control dust pollution and vehicular pollution.

''If the need arises, we will bring in GRAP. Whatever needs to be done, we will do to control pollution in Delhi. But I pray to the Centre with folded hands to work towards stopping stubble burning. Otherwise, despite the efforts of Delhiites, they will have to face pollution due to stubble burning,'' he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)