WHO report prompts air pollution panel

The Times of India , Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Correspondent : TNN
NEW DELHI: After a WHO urban air quality database released last week sounded alarm bells on the city's extremely high air pollution levels, lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung has set up a high-powered committee to look into air pollution levels.

"We cannot allow pollution to grow unchecked. It is our moral responsibility to provide a healthy environment to our citizens. If we have to ensure health of our cities, we will have to take stern steps against pollution and polluting units." Jung said in his first public statement after the World Health Organization (WHO) report.

Constituted on Monday, the committee has got a month to submit its report. It has a specific brief to examine-pollution caused by the growing number of vehicles in the city and pollution levels in the Yamuna from industries and sewage discharge. The committee has also been asked to study the cause and levels of air pollution and suggest both long-term and short-term steps to check it.

The panel will be chaired by the chief secretary and have special CP (traffic), secretary (environment), commissioner (transport) and member secretary of Delhi Pollution Control Committee as its members. It has also been empowered to co-opt members, both from the government and the private sector, including NGOs.

The WHO report, released on May 7, stated that Delhi had the PM 2.5 (fine, respirable particles) level at 153 micrograms per cubic metre-the highest in 1,600 cities. Jung had met the chief secretary and all senior officers of the Delhi government on May 9 and expressed concerns about growing levels of pollution in the capital.

After the WHO report, DPPC officials claimed air pollution levels in the city may not be higher than Beijing's. They said the data used for Beijing was from 2010 which may be the reason for the disparity.

Environmentalists had criticized the government for wasting time on debate on which is the most polluted city rather than taking steps to tackle the problem.

"The first thing that Delhi can do is to upgrade the current monitoring system and issue health alerts. They need to make an effective public transport strategy where bus, Metro, walking and cycling is integrated. There has to be a parking policy with a pricing strategy and the bus frequency needs to improve," said Anumita Roychowdhury, head of clean air programme at Centre for Science and Environment.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/WHO-report-prompts-air-pollution-panel/articleshow/35079411.cms
 


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