Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Thursday that the issue of rise in pollution level in the city will be resolved through joint efforts of the Central and state governments by taking mitigation measures that would have a greater impact on the ground.

He said among the measures being taken to curb the pollution is changing of the timings of government offices so that vehicular traffic could be reduced. A special drive will also be in place to stop the entry of diesel buses from neighboring states.

Rai said changing the timings of both Central and state government offices in Delhi has been discussed to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads during peak hours. He said that the Delhi government is deploying Civil Defence volunteers to enforce measures under the Graded Response Action Plan’s stage- II (GRAP-2) which is presently invoked in addition to the anti- pollution plan’s stage- I.

He further said that all pollution-related issues have been discussed with the LG exuding confidence that a united effort from all, including the state BJP governments and the people, will lead to greater success in combating pollution.

On the possibility of artificial rain as a pollution mitigation measure, Rai said the Delhi government has requested the LG for it who has assured of taking up the matter with the Central government.

He said that despite the Delhi government taking up with the transport ministers of neighbouring states the issue of diesel buses entering Delhi, many diesel buses are entering the capital city. A special drive has been discussed with the transport department to take action against them.

“We have written to the transport ministers of neighbouring states regarding government diesel buses. However, many private diesel buses are still entering Delhi. A special drive has been discussed with the Transport Department to take action against them. Furthermore, there have been talks about taking action against private vehicles of BS-3 and BS-4 standards,” the minister added.

After a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), the Environment Minister informed that GRAP-2 has been implemented in Delhi, but there is a shortage of workforce for execution, and for that, it has been decided to deploy Civil Defence volunteers at various locations.

According to the minister, discussions were also held on the diversion of some routes in Delhi, for which the traffic police will coordinate with neighbouring states.