Delhi winter air pollution plan: Here is how Arvind Kejriwal's govt plans to make air breathable this year

In a bid to combat the annual surge of winter air pollution crisis, Delhi's Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, has announced a series of significant measures. With the onset of winter, the city has been grappling with severe air pollution issues, prompting the government to take swift action. Here are the several measures Delhi government plans to undertake to make air breathable.

Water sprinklers: The government will install 530 water sprinklers at 13 main hotspots to combat dust pollution.
Pusa biodecomposer, which controls stubble burning, will be sprayed on 5,000 hectares of agriculture land this year, up from 4,400 hectares last year.
Monitoring industrial areas: In the national capital, 66 teams will monitor 1727 industrial units.

More plantation: Over 1 crore plants will be planted to battle pollution.
Vehicle pollution: A total of 385 teams will examine vehicle pollution certifications and prevent overage cars from being driven.
Garbage burning is prohibited in Delhi, according to Kejriwal, and 611 teams will oversee its enforcement.
13 Pollution hotspots mapped: The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has previously mapped and created an inventory of all major and small pollution sources, as well as their geo-coordinates, at the city's 13 hotspots. The government has identified 13 pollution hotspots and a special control room will monitor them.
Strict implementation of GRAP: Kejriwal also said that the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) will be implemented strictly in the city.

Last year, Delhi had mapped 470 major and minor pollution sources in the capital city, which helped improve the air quality as compared to the previous winter of 2021.

With peak pollution season approaching in Delhi-NCR region, the graded response action plan (GRAP) to reduce PM2.5 and PM10 levels is expected to go into force on October 1.

Heavy traffic on the main road (NH-44) and the Jahangirpuri-Azadpur stretch; the Bhalswa dump and dust on the stretch connecting it to the main road; and a C&D waste recycling facility are the key contributors. Potholes were also named as a source of pollution by the DPCC. Last winter, the Centre for Science and Environment found that hotspots in north and east Delhi were the most polluted in the city, with Jahangirpuri being the'most polluted' official hotspot. Anand Vihar (196 g/m3), Wazirpur (185 g/m3), Mundka (185 g/m3), Rohini (182 g/m3), and Bawana (179 g/m3) were the other most polluted areas.