Delhi Government’s Air Pollution Initiatives Delay

• The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has yet to implement at least five programs to curb air pollution.
• These include using drones to map air pollution sources, making pollution under control (PUC) certificates compulsory for fuel purchase, engaging machines for road cleaning and dust reduction, conducting workshops on ‘urban farming’, and developing 17 “world-class” city forests.
• The Delhi government has not issued a response to the delay in these projects. However, AAP Delhi secretary Reena Gupta stated that the forest development and urban farming schemes have been stopped by the Central government.
• Drone mapping: The government plans to deploy drones to map sources of bad air in the city’s 13 pollution hotspots. However, monitoring of all 13 hotspots using drones is unlikely to happen this year.
• Cleaner roads: A ₹2,388-crore plan for mechanised cleaning of the city’s roads was announced in January 2023, but the tender for the project is yet to be floated.
• Filling stations will not sell fuel to motorists without valid PUC certificates, but the plan was never notified.
• Other initiatives: The government plans to launch a ‘Smart Urban Farming’ initiative in association with the Indian Agricultural Research Institute to increase the city’s green cover, but the plan has missed multiple deadlines.