Delhi government and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and Climate Change jointly launched the Clean Air Campaign for the Capital on Saturday. The campaign which will continue for two weeks till 23 February. MoEF Minister Harsh Vardhan maintained that the Centre was “committed to mitigation of pollution” while Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal stressed on the need for “round-the-year study on sources of pollution.”
A mobile app for the campaign was jointly launched by Vardhan and Kejriwal. Speaking at the launch of the campaign, Harsh Vardhan pointed out to the need to use science and technology to combat pollution. He said a 70-mmber team had been constituted to fight pollution and emphasised: “We must take the example of this campaign of Delhi to the entire nation. People must realise their green social responsibility and I hope that children present at the gathering and elsewhere will become ‘green sainiks’ in fight against pollution.”
Arvind Kejriwal stressed that a study needed to be conducted round-the-year on various sources of pollution. “There is need to analyse pollution in a scientific manner as no solution can be found on a piecemeal basis. I hope that all concerned ministries of the Central and Delhi governments will join hands to form a blueprint for mitigation of pollution.”
MoEF & CC secretary CK Mishra felt that the Clean Air Campaign must aim to substantially improve the air quality index. He added that the campaign should also aim to receive suggestions from people on mitigation of pollution.
Describing the constitution of the 70-member team which shall promote the campaign, an official said one senior officer from the MoEF Ministry and another from Delhi government would be the co-leaders of the team.
Besides, the team shall include one member from CPCB, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the municipal corporations. The campaign will include interactions with non-government organisations (NGOs), civil society citizens and academic and R&D institutions.
The official added that a workshop on vehicular pollution and traffic management would be held and the team would encourage resident welfare associations to plant saplings in open areas and encourage schools and colleges to increase the green cover on their campuses.