To combat pollution in the capital, the Delhi government plans to use a machine that sprays water into the air. A similar machine is used in China, sources said. A pilot project to test the machine, described by the office of the Lieutenant Governor as an “anti-smog gun”, took place in Anand Vihar on Monday. This, along with measures such as conversion of two-wheelers to electric vehicles, and banning diesel generator sets, are all part of Delhi’s new ‘air action plan’.

While the government had initially presented the ‘air action plan’ to L-G Anil Baijal last week, a meeting, attended by environment minister Imran Hussain and Delhi government officials took place at the L-G’s office on Monday.

The plan, officials said, has two components — a constructive plan with specific targets, which officials aim to start from January 2018, and a regulatory plan that will vary depending on the season, said sources. With the deployment of environment marshals, officials said the government has already started implementing the plan.

So far, seven teams of environment marshals have been deployed across the city. Sources said that they will increase the number of marshalling teams to 100 — for the 50 wards that have been selected for the project.

Sources said, “This move is inspired by the Chinese water cannons that were used by the authorities there with some success. The idea is that it reduces air pollution by binding dust and other particulate matter, and bring them down to the ground level. This could be of use in an arid place like Delhi.”

The plan, sources said, has been made by looking at the three major sources of pollution — transport, industry, and road dust and fugitive emissions. To tackle the transport problem, the L-G’s office has reiterated the government’s plan to procure 2,000 buses, besides 1,000 buses to improve last-mile connectivity.

The government also plans to focus on converting the 35 lakh BS-II two-wheelers into electric vehicles. An incentive scheme for public transport such as midi buses to be converted into electric vehicles is also being considered. The government will also focus on the existing Pollution Under Control (PUC) mechanism. Problems related to the mechanism were flagged by EPCA earlier this year.

Addressing industrial problems, the L-G’s office said that closing down of the Badarpur thermal power plant by July 2018 was integral to curb pollution.