Javadekar holds meeting with states on stubble burning, air pollution in north India

In an attempt to come up with effective solutions for stubble burning in the states neighbouring Delhi, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) held a virtual meeting on the issue of air pollution on Thursday.

The state environment ministers of Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh; secretaries of pollution control boards; along with representatives of Delhi Development Authority and New Delhi Municipal Council attended the meeting.

Earlier on Tuesday, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar had said the Centre's effort to reduce pollution level, that started since 2016, was not limited to Delhi. "This includes Faridabad and Gurugram (in Haryana), Noida and Ghaziabad (in UP) and parts of Punjab and Rajasthan."

On September 26, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had written to Union Minister Javadekar on the issue, specifically mentioning about the usage of a technology, developed by ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, in Delhi and nearby states.

Last year, the Supreme Court came down heavily on the state governments for cases of stubble burning as it heard the matter of air pollution in northern India including capital Delhi.