Delhi air pollution: To tackle the alarmingly high pollution levels in the national capital, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday urged the Central government to implement artificial rain as a measure to combat the worsening air quality.
Addressing a press conference, Rai urged the Centre to convene an emergency meeting to tackle the issue and said it is the moral responsibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the matter. "Delhi is under GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) Stage IV restrictions, and we are taking every possible step to reduce vehicular and industrial pollution. Restrictions have been imposed on private vehicles and trucks, aiming to curb the number of vehicles entering the city.
Artificial rain can help settle pollutants
"We have been consulting several experts over how to remove the smog cover (in Delhi). We believe that the time has come for artificial rain to remove this smog cover and provide relief to the people. I am writing a letter to the Union Environment Bhupendra Yadav requesting him to call an emergency meeting. The Delhi government, experts from IIT-Kanpur, who have done research on artificial rain, and all concerned departments should be called in the meeting to immediately initiate steps for artificial rain," said Rai.
The Union environment minister has not responded to repeated requests from the Delhi government to call an emergency meeting over the dire pollution situation in the city and allowing artificial rain, he said. "If the central government cannot act, then their (environment) minister should resign," he added.
Delhi govt seeks Centre's nod for artificial rain
Rai also wrote a letter to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, requesting him "to immediately convene an emergency meeting with Delhi Govt, IIT Kanpur and all other central Government Departments/agencies like DGCA, MHA, Ministry of Defence etc. involved in issuing NOC/clearance to conduct cloud seeding in Delhi as an emergency measure."
Rai's request to the Centre for artificial rain came a day after the Supreme Court directed authorities in Delhi-NCR to maintain Stage 4 pollution restrictions under GRAP, even if the AQI drops.
The city continues to grapple with the worst air quality in the country, shrouded in a thick layer of smog. The Air Quality Index soared to a hazardous 494 in the 'severe plus' category. Despite the enforcement of stringent Stage IV restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), several air monitoring stations recorded AQI levels reaching the maximum limit of 500.
