Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today announced a 15-point Winter Action Plan to combat air pollution in the city.

Stating the pollution in the national capital usually increases during winters, Kejriwal said his government will collaborate with the Centre and neighbouring states to combat the menace.

“As the winter sets in, we often see a spike in the pollution levels. The Delhi government in consultation with several agencies have prepared the plan to curb air pollution,” Kejriwal said while addressing a press conference here.

The Delhi Chief minister said the 15-point action plan would include the installation of 233 anti-smog guns and at least 150 mobile anti-smog guns as well as the formation of 611 teams to check burning of garbage in open.

He also said that 586 teams have been formed to keep an eye on construction sites in the city and effectively implement the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

The Delhi Chief Minister said the teams will monitor that all construction sites larger than 5,000 square metres will have anti-smog guns.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday made anti-smog guns mandatory at all construction and demolition sites larger than 5,000 square metres in and around the city.

Meanwhile, Kejriwal said the city’s 2 crore inhabitants and the government have worked very hard to reduce air pollution, which has significantly brought down the levels.

“As per a report by the Centre’s National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), the pollution in the city has reduced significant in 2021-22 as compared to four years ago,” the Delhi Chief Minister said, adding that the Particulate Matter (PM)10 level has come down by 18.6 per cent.

Putting forward the “10 most crucial steps” in the motive, the AAP national convenor said the pollution has been reduced to great extent with the availability of 24-hour electricity as it does not cause air pollution with diesel.

Kejriwal further said that by shutting down two thermal power plants which were responsible for generating fly ash, Delhi has become a model state.

The Delhi Chief Minister however, said that air pollution due to stubble burning remains a top concern at this time of the year.

A bio-decomposer prepared by the PUSA Institute would be given to farmers for free, while an anti-dust campaign will start from October 6, Kejriwal noted, adding that active monitoring will be carried out by 586 teams.

Kejriwal said 380 teams have been formed for strict enforcement of adherence to Pollution Under Control certificates and to ensure that diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years don’t operate.

He further said that ban will continue to remain on firecrackers like every year.

The Delhi Chief Minister said that along with IIT-Kanpur, data is being collected on the likely causes for pollution in the national capital, adding that a super site has been formed, 8,500 Paryavan Mitras have been set up, as well as an e-waste park to dispose of electronic waste.

He further said the green cover of the national capital has expanded after the Aam Aadmi Party government came into force.

“When we came to power, Delhi’s green cover was 20 per cent which is 23.6 percent today,” the Delhi Chief Minister said.

Kejriwal also lauded the Union government’s help for combating pollution as it constructed peripheral expressways alongside Delhi because of which many trucks have now started commuting outside Delhi.