As Delhi's Air Quality Improves, Centre Announces Four-solution Programme to Reduce Pollution by 90%

New Delhi: There has been an overall improvement in the air quality of Delhi with 14.8 per cent reduction in particulate matter (PM) 2.5 levels and 16.5 per cent reduction in PM 10 levels in 2018 compared to 2016, the Environment Ministry told the Lok Sabha on Friday.

The number of 'good' to 'moderate' air quality days are up to 159 in 2018 compared to 152 in 2017, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar told the Lower House of Parliament in response to a question.

"Several measures have been taken/being taken by the government to check/control air pollution in Delhi. Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) data indicated general improvement in air quality of Delhi in 2018.

The Union Environment minister has also announced a 'four-solution' programme beginning 2020 to "reduce air pollution by 90 per cent".

Speaking at a news channel recently, Javadekar said, "First of all, pollution generated by vehicles is prominent and as one of the recent efforts to reduce the damage, the government has invested Rs 7,000 crore to avail Bharat Standard 6 (BS6) petrol."

"Also, cars manufactured from 2020 will be BS6 compliant," he said.

The minister said the expressway in the city, which has been talked about for the last 20 years without any accomplishment, is almost complete and will be open to public in just one more year.

He said restriction has been imposed on the entry of thousands of trucks, which used to enter Delhi without purpose, and this has led to reduction in pollution level in the city.

The other two strategies of the 'four-solution' programme include increasing the number of e-vehicles and awareness among people, he said at India Today Conclave held recently.

The Central government has approved the proposal for the implementation of a scheme titled 'Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II (FAME India Phase II)' for promotion of electric mobility in the country, the ministry informed.

The total outlay for this scheme is Rs 10,000 crore over the period of three years with effect from April 1, 2019, it said.

The ministry also elaborated on the measures taken to combat air pollution in the national capital which include comprehensive action plan (CAP), banning of biomass burning, shifting from BS-IV to BS-VI fuel standards, promotion of public transport, operationalisation of the eastern and western peripheral expressway to divert non-destined traffic from Delhi, among others.

Residents, too, have started taking initiatives to make the environment pollution free. Chakr, a startup founded by IIT Delhi graduate Kushagr Srivastava, extracts pollutants from air and convert them into ink and paint.