Previous government kept quiet on Delhi pollution, says Prakash Javadekar

Speaking at the launch of the Indian State of Forest Report in New Delhi, on Friday, Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar brought up the burning issue of Delhi's pollution levels. The union minister said that Delhi's air had been going bad for ten years but no one did anything. It was the BJP-led central government that had put in place some measure to check it.

Javadekar said that to control Delhi's pollution agencies and governments of the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana had to cooperate with Delhi, as did the Punjab government when it came to the issue of farmers burning stubble that sent blankets of smoke billowing towards Delhi. It was the central government, he said, that had made all the state governments and agencies and corporations sit together and charted out a plan.

However, he added, regulations for cars, other vehicles, fuel quality had to be better, and he central government had advanced the country's target of getting to Euro6 emission standards, one of the cleanest fuel, to 2021. But 2017, Euro 4 would be available, by 2019 Euro 5.

The bypass that had to be built around Delhi, that had been lying untouched for years Javadekar said, had been set in motion by Prime Minister Modi. The first bypass would be built in a year, the second in two years.

They were coordinating with the Punjab government, and had brought down stubble burning by 25 percent year. Next year would see a 50 percent reduction, the year after, no burning at all.

According to Javadekar, had the Centre not taken these measure, Delhi's air pollution would have been even worse.