Delhi govt extends anti-open burning campaign till June-end

The Delhi government on Monday decided to extend its anti-open burning campaign till June 30, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said. The decision was taken at a meeting to review the implementation of Delhi's summer action plan to fight air pollution. The first phase of the campaign started on April 12 and continued till May 12. The second phase began on May 13 and ended on Monday.

The third phase of the drive will continue till June 30, Rai said.

Several teams from 10 departments inspected 10,794 garbage burning sites in the second phase of the campaign.

The three landfill sites in Delhi - Ghazipur, Okhla, and Bhalswa - were inspected 359 times.

Notices and challans have been issued to four violators and a cumulative fine of about Rs 55,000 was collected, Rai said.

He said 631 of the 674 complaints received about the open burning of garbage were resolved through the “Green Delhi” application.

The anti-open burning campaign is part of the city government's summer action plan that focuses on city forests, redevelopment of parks, rejuvenation of water bodies, sapling plantation, tree transplantation monitoring, and phasing out of single-use plastics, development of an eco-waste park, and urban farming, among others.

Last year, the city government had implemented a 10-point action plan to check the worsening of air pollution in the winter season. The plan focused on stubble burning, dust, burning of garbage, fireworks, installation of a smog tower, identification of more polluting sites, strengthening of green war rooms, and vehicular emissions.

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