The Delhi government stepped up its fight against pollution in the city and launched the ‘Advanced Green War Room’ and ‘Green Delhi App’ on Tuesday.

Environment Minister Gopal Rai said 13 hotspots were identified in Delhi last year, but this time 150 hotspots had been identified.

A 21-member team has been formed for the Green War Room. The team will work 24 hours a day for the entire winter season.

Through the Green Delhi App, people of Delhi can send a pollution-related complaint to the Green War Room based on which action will be taken. He said last year 27,000 complaints were
received through the app and out of these, more than 23,000 complaints were resolved. The maximum number of complaints came from the MCD, the DDA, and the PWD.

Gopal Rai said, “Yesterday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the Winter Action Plan for the campaign against pollution in Delhi. We have collaborated with public and private agencies, RWAs and different departments for the formulation of the Action Plan. We gathered the information for the action plans from various sources and Kejriwal, on behalf of the Environment Department, launched the Winter Action Plan encapsulating the top10 points that will be worked upon.”

The app serves as a central point of coordination through which residents of Delhi, when encountered with pollution, can convey the complaint to this war room enabling the government to take action.

Last year, the app was launched for Android phones, but now iOS phones can access the app as well. This app works with 27 departments of Delhi in solving the complaints received. It includes departments of the Central government, the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation to resolve the problems caused, he pointed out.

Rai said to ensure smooth functioning, a joint team has been set up for the War Room, having members from the University of Chicago and GDI Partners. This team will scrutinise the Winter Action Plan with immediate effect.

“We are recruiting 50 engineers for the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to help us work smoothly and coordinate the plan of action with proper dedication. Seventy Green Marshalls have been recruited as our task force who visit the complaint site to double-check the resolution. We have put together a team of 21 members who will closely follow and monitor the Winter Action Plan,” the minister added.