During presentation of the Union Budget on Thursday, finance minister Arun Jaitley reserved a special section in the document to address concerns over the rising pollution plaguing Delhi.
Since most of the pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region is caused by the burning of crop residue in the bordering states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, the finance minister said the government will work to subsidise the cost of machinery to be procured by Delhi’s neighbouring states so that crop residue can be managed better.
Calling the air pollution a cause of concern, he said: “Special schemes will be implemented to support Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to address it. Subsidies will be given for farm machinery to manage crop residue.”
NDTV journalist Vikram Chandra tweeted in response to this: “Special scheme to tackle crop stubble burning – and ease air pollution! Phew. Maybe we can breathe next year.”