New Delhi: In a push to tackle air pollution in the capital, the Delhi government is likely to roll out micro-level interventions -- strict dust control at construction sites, regular tree cleaning, and employing mechanised sweepers to clean inner roads and narrow lanes.
A meeting between Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and representatives from premier institutions such as IIT-Delhi, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Clean Air Collective was held at the Delhi Secretariat, according to a statement issued on Saturday.
During the meeting, experts stressed the importance of sustainable urban mobility, controlling construction dust, and implementing data-driven air quality interventions, the statement by the Delhi environment ministry said.
They advocated for the fast-tracking of electric vehicles (EVs) in public transportation and the removal of old and polluting vehicles from the city’s roads.
A key highlight of the discussion was the expansion of the Delhi Metro network with the goal of ensuring that every citizen has access to a metro station within 400 metres of their residence.
Officials said this would strengthen public transport infrastructure and reduce dependence on private vehicles, thereby cutting down air pollution. The experts also called for prioritising EVs during new vehicle registrations and taking stringent action against aging vehicles that contribute significantly to the city’s air pollution.
They suggested that rigorous implementation of these measures could bring about substantial improvements in Delhi’s air quality, it said.
At the micro-level, experts proposed strategies such as strict dust control measures at construction sites, regular cleaning of trees to prevent dust resuspension, and deployment of small mechanized road sweepers for cleaning inner roads and narrow lanes.
Sirsa informed that many of these suggestions are already part of the Delhi Government’s future plans.