New Delhi [India], November 19 : Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday wrote to Union Environment Minister Minister Bhupendra Yadav requesting to immediately convene an emergency meeting with Delhi Government, IIT Kanpur and all other central Government Departments like DGCA, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Ministry of Defence etc. involved in issuing clearance to conduct cloud seeding in Delhi, as an emergency measure.
Gopal Rai said, "Time has come to carry out artificial rainfall to break the layer of smog. The Government of Delhi with the help of IIT Kanpur has last year explored cloud seeding as an emergency measure to artificially induce rain and reduce air pollution during such critical periods. This year we started preparations in August to carry out cloud seeding. Despite several requests meeting was not held earlier."
He said that till the layer of smog is not broken the pollution cannot be mitigated.
Rai said, "We are continuously working. We have banned BS-III petrol four wheelers, BS-IV diesel vehicles. All trucks, diesel buses coming from outside have been banned. Schools have been closed for 10th and 12th as well. Thirdly, timings have been staggered for offices. About work from home, we are also working on that. A decision will be taken soon. We will also implement that. We are working on all the things that are in our hands and we will continue to do so. The layer of smog has to be broken."
He sought an emergency meeting with the Union Environment Minister.
"We are trying to reduce the layer of smog. We are seeking an emergency meeting with the Union Environment Minister so that we can take all actions on the ground. We are also discussing odd-even but now experts are saying that we have imposed so many restrictions, people are now considering how much of an impact it will have," he added.
He said that the pollutant particles had mixed with the smog.
"We are reducing the sources. The smog can be broken only if wind speed increase or there is rain. In NCR people are breaking GRAP rules. Once the smog is broken AQI will reduce to 350," he added.
The capital's air quality index (AQI) has remained in the "severe" category for days, with PM2.5 concentrations surging past 400 mg/m3 -- far beyond the World Health Organization's (WHO) safe limit of 15 mg/m3 for 24-hour exposure. In response, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) activated Stage-IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), imposing restrictions like bans on truck entry and a halt to public construction projects.