Shorts

Delhi govt ready to pay for choppers, aircraft for aerial sprinkling

The Delhi government has written to the Union Health Ministry requesting its help to get helicopters and aircraft via the Civil Aviation Ministry for the aerial sprinkling of water across the capital to contain pollution.

In his letter to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain said the Delhi government will pay for the aircraft.

The pollution in Delhi has reached critical levels “due to various causes including stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, the bursting of crackers during Diwali,” he said. Further, weather conditions like calm wind and low temperature heighten the concentration levels of particulate matter PM 2.5 and PM 10 in the ambient air. Aerial sprinkling is expected to lower dust concentration.

Hussain said the Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, in its meeting on October 17, has decided to enforce provisions of very poor and severe categories of graded response action plan till March 15, 2018.

In another development, the authority has also asked the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to identify the 10 dusty roads into the capital including NH 24 and fix them. The city already uses trucks to water arterial roads to curb pollution.