Union minister for environment, forest and climate change Bhupender Yadav on Friday said automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras should be installed at fuel stations to effectively implement the ‘No PUCC, No Fuel’ initiative and called for accelerated action to significantly reduce pollution levels before the onset of winter.
He also stressed the need to expedite the deployment of electric buses in the Uttar Pradesh region of the NCR, noting significant deficiencies in the existing fleet, according to a press statement. The Union minister said that for pollution from stubble burning, a meeting with agriculture ministers of states was being lined up.
Yadav made the remarks during a meeting with chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Union minister of state for environment, forest and climate change Kirtivardhan Singh, UP forest and environment minister Arun Kumar and state transport minister Dayashankar Singh to discuss measures to control pollution, particularly in the NCR region.
Emphasising the need to improve urban traffic management, Yadav directed officials to identify traffic congestion hotspots and implement measures to resolve them promptly through better coordination among various agencies, the statement said.
Adityanath directed all state government officials concerned to ensure timely action on the various measures discussed during the meeting.
Highlighting the importance of timely action, Yadav said the period before the winter season should be fully utilised to implement pollution control measures in “mission mode”.
While reviewing measures to reduce road dust, Yadav said repairing roads and increasing greenery by planting local varieties of shrubs and grass during the monsoon should be prioritised. Special attention should also be paid to identifying and repairing potholes, constructing footpaths and pedestrian walkways, planting greenery along roadsides and ensuring thorough road cleaning.
Yadav said any shortcomings in the deployment of mechanical road sweeping machines (MRSMs) should be rectified at the earliest.
Regarding end-of-life (EOL) vehicles, Yadav urged officials to expedite the issuance of no objection certificates (NOCs) for transferring eligible EOL vehicles outside the NCR and advocated for the scientific scrapping of old and unfit vehicles. He also called for the rapid replacement of old, polluting vehicles with EVs.
“A comprehensive action plan was formulated today to address dust pollution. Discussions were held regarding the Solid Waste Management Rules and the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules,” Yadav said.
The Union minister said the meeting covered vehicle pollution issues, including old vehicles, the new EV Policy, electric buses, mandatory pollution certificates, and aggregator vehicles.
“We have had meetings with the chief ministers in Haryana and Delhi, and now after the meeting in UP, we shall hold next talks with Rajasthan and Punjab chief ministers. As for pollution from stubble burning, a meeting with agriculture ministers of states is being lined up,” Yadav added.
Lauding the state for environmental measures, the Union minister said, “UP has surpassed the target given for plantation and successfully planted saplings under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign. The state had been given a 30-crore target, but it planted 35 crore saplings.”
During the meeting, officials reviewed measures and action plans to prevent air pollution in eight districts of UP connected to the NCR, including Noida, Hapur, Ghaziabad, Meerut and Bulandshahr, the press statement said.
Chairperson of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Rajesh Verma and senior officials from various departments of the UP government were also present at the meeting.
