Delhi's air quality 'very poor': EPCA chairman says enforcing agencies completely dormant
November 19, 2018 22:22
Delhi's air quality remained "very poor" on Monday due to slow wind speed and high humidity, authorities said even as a study pointed out that during the past two decades, Delhi's air quality was the "most deadly" in 2016 as it reduced the life expectancy of a resident by over 10 years.
Even as the study asserted that the national capital was the second among 50 most polluted areas of the country, the Supreme Court-empowered Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority Chairman Bhure Lal said enforcing agencies were "completely dormant" and bodies like the DDA and the MCD were indulging in a blame game.
Speaking at an event, Lal stressed on the need to strengthen public transport, especially the bus fleet, while asserting that there was a "laxity of administration" in adopting measures for combating pollution.
North Delhi Mayor Adesh Gupta, however, rejected the allegation saying, the civic body "follows all instructions" as directed by the apex court-appointed monitoring committee while DDA Vice-Chairman Tarun Kapoor said the urban body discharged all its duty diligently.
Lal had recently recommended to pollution watchdog CPCB that it should implement either the odd-even scheme or impose a complete ban on non-CNG private vehicles if the air pollution level in Delhi increases again.
According to the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting, the overall air quality index was recorded at 326, which comes under the "very poor" category. However, the Central Pollution Control Board data said 20 areas in Delhi recorded "very poor" air quality and 13 recorded "poor" air quality.
-- PTI
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