Swati Maliwal meets Union Environment Minister, demands strengthening of CAQM to tackle Delhi's air pollution crisis

New Delhi [India], December 19 (ANI): Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal met Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav on Friday, and submitted a memorandum highlighting the continuously deteriorating air quality in Delhi and its severe impact on public health.
During the meeting, Maliwal described Delhi's air pollution as a serious public health emergency.
According to an official statement, she raised concerns over the high AQI levels recorded every winter, shortcomings in the functioning of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), rising vehicular pollution due to inadequate public transport, road and construction dust, emissions from thermal power plants located around the NCR, and the poor utilisation of funds allocated for clean air initiatives.
Sharing details of the meeting, Maliwal wrote on X, "Met Union Minister for Environment Bhupendra Yadav, today in Parliament and shared suggestions and concerns regarding the air pollution problem in Delhi."
She also stated that Delhi is going through a public health emergency and that breathing the city's air is equivalent to smoking several cigarettes a day.
Maliwal also expressed concern over the recent Supreme Court order related to the definition of the Aravalli Hills. She warned that weakening the protection of ecologically important hills and ridge areas could further aggravate dust pollution, heat stress, and water scarcity in Delhi.
"She urged the Ministry to strengthen and make CAQM more accountable, ensure better coordination with neighbouring states, expand public transport, strictly enforce dust-control norms, review the environmental impact of the Aravalli order, and ensure effective utilisation of funds earmarked for improving air quality," according to the statement.
"A major contributor to Delhi's deteriorating air quality continues to be vehicular congestion, made worse by an inadequate public transport system. In 1998, the Supreme Court mandated that Delhi must operate a minimum of 10,000 buses. Yet nearly three decades later, the city has only 5,000-7,000 buses," according to the letter to Union Minister Yadav, shared by her.
Another major challenge she highlighted was thermal power plants operating within a 300 km radius of Delhi, she said in the letter. She added, "While the capital has shut down all coal-based thermal plants within its limits, 35 plants continue to operate around NCR, and only 13 have installed emission-control systems." (ANI)