Environmentalists are of the view that the “emergency meeting” held on Tuesday by the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and adjoining areas to discuss the depleting air quality should have happened irrespective of Supreme Court’s intervention.

Speaking to ANI, Vimlendu Jha, an Environmental activist said, “The meeting should have happened irrespective of Supreme Court’s intervention. It is CAQM’s responsibility to anticipate an air pollution crisis and organise meetings or facilitate meetings. I hope something constructive comes out of this.”

“I hope that the CAQM understands that it has all the power to take stringent actions, which are collaborated,” he further said.

Jha also said that alongside the issue of stubble burning, it is also important to discuss other pollutants which are major contributors to air pollution.
Adding to it, Manu Singh, an environment activist, said that drastic measures are required to help improve the Air Quality Index (AQI).

He also stressed the need to implement schemes like odd-even immediately.
“Government will wake only after when this goes out of control. What did the government do, I don’t understand! Stubble is still burning, on top of that, the rules were flouted hugely on Diwali as a huge number of incidents of crackers bursting were reported,” Singh said.

“We need to look at it holistically; we need to plan on a yearly basis and also make a ten-year plan for fighting this,” he added.

“We are living in the shadow of a very dangerous pandemic (COVID-19) which compromises not only the immunity but also the lungs of many people. It is very dangerous for those who are fighting it; we are living in a cursed situation,” Singh further added.

The virtual meeting was attended by Chief Secretaries, other officials of states, and environment bodies such as the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).

The meeting was scheduled on an urgent basis after the Supreme court intervened and raised concern over the pollution levels in Delhi and adjoining states, ranging between ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ categories.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital was recorded at 396 as it continued to remain in the ‘Very Poor’ category for the third consecutive day today.

In the month of October, the Commission for Air Quality Management in Delhi and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) deployed teams that listed out of 6,596 construction sites more than 963 were found violating dust control norms.
When the weather plummets, dust from most sources becomes visible in the air.

The vapour is more visible in the air and the levels of pollution rise in winter.