Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav, today held a comprehensive review meeting with Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath, and senior officials of the State Government in Lucknow to assess the progress of ongoing measures aimed at improving air quality in Delhi-NCR. Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Kirtivardhan Singh, Uttar Pradesh Minister for Environment and Forest Dr. Arun Kumar, and State Minister of Transport (Independent charge) Shri Dayashankar Singh were also present during the meeting.
Addressing the meeting, Chief Minister Shri Yogi Adityanath welcomed the measures being taken by the Government to curb air pollution in Delhi NCR. He directed all State Government officials to take timely action on different measures discussed during the meeting. He further thanked the Union Minister for organizing this review meeting and his valuable guidance in this matter.
During the meeting, Shri Bhupender Yadav emphasized the need for accelerated implementation, stronger inter-agency coordination and strict enforcement to ensure substantial reduction in air pollution levels before the onset of the winter season. Emphasizing the urgency of timely action, the Minister said, "The window before the winter season must be fully utilized to implement pollution control measures in mission mode. Timely execution, effective coordination and strict enforcement will be critical to achieving visible improvements in Delhi-NCR's air quality."
Reviewing measures to curb Road Dust, Shri Yadav requested that end-to-end paving and greening of roads with local species shrubs/grasses during monsoons be undertaken on priority, with focused attention on pothole identification and repair, construction of footpaths and pavements, roadside greening and deep cleaning of roads. He urged that all gaps in the deployment of Mechanical Road Sweeping Machines (MRSMs) be bridged at the earliest, while suggesting that all MRSMs be geo-tagged to facilitate real-time monitoring of road-cleaning operations and improve accountability.
Reviewing the status of Electric Mobility, the Minister stressed that deployment of electric buses and installation of EV charging stations across the NCR municipal corporations in Uttar Pradesh should be expedited, noting significant gaps in the existing fleet. He congratulated the Uttar Pradesh Government for the rapidly increasing tree covered area across the State. On the issue of End-of-Life (EoL) vehicles, Shri Yadav requested that the authorities expedite issuance of No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for transfer of eligible EoL vehicles outside the NCR, while simultaneously encouraging scientific scrapping of old and unfit vehicles. He also called for faster replacement of old polluting vehicles with electric vehicles under the Parivartan Scheme. The Minister requested that Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system be installed at all fuel stations for effective implementation of the "No PUCC, No Fuel" initiative. Stressing the need to improve urban traffic management, Shri Yadav asked the authorities to identify Traffic Congestion Hotspots on a mission mode and implement suitable mitigation measures at the earliest.
Reviewing Industrial Pollution control measures, Shri Yadav emphasized the need for accelerated installation of Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) and Air Pollution Control Devices (APCDs) across industrial units. The Union Minister reviewed progress on Construction and Demolition Waste management and requested that establishment of Secondary Collection Centres for C&D waste be expedited. Referring to Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and Biomass Burning, he stressed that liquidation of Legacy Waste should be undertaken on a war footing. On Stubble Burning, Shri Yadav requested the State Government to bridge gaps in procurement of Crop Residue Management (CRM) machinery. He emphasized the need for intensive Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaigns and farmer training programmes to promote effective use of CRM equipment.
Underscoring the importance of Public Participation and coordinated institutional action, Shri Yadav said that air pollution can be effectively tackled only through a 'Whole of Government' and 'Whole of Society' approach. The Union Minister stressed on strict implementation of the advisories issued by the government to curb air pollution. He also emphasized increasing sanitation workers commensurate with the ratio of population. The Minister said that air pollution can be controlled only by following rules, using the latest technology and introducing innovation to tackle the issue. Extending a call for widespread public engagement, he stressed that all citizens must come forward to join hands with the authorities and play an important part in this fight against air pollution.
The meeting was attended by Secretary, MoEFCC, Shri Tanmay Kumar; Chairperson, Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), Shri Rajesh Verma; senior officers of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Government of Uttar Pradesh. Senior officials from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Uttar Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (UPSPCB) were also present.