Delhi minister Sirsa holds meeting with department, NGOs over pollution crisis

New Delhi, Nov 19 (PTI) Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Wednesday outlined a series of ongoing and upcoming interventions to curb the capital's worsening air quality.

Sirsa held a meeting on Wednesday with officials of concerned departments, NGOs, research bodies, journalists and other stakeholders, where issues such as dust mitigation, industrial compliance, traffic-related pollution, construction regulation and public awareness were discussed.

He said the administration is intensifying ground-level actions such as dust suppression on 40-60 ft arterial roads, deploying additional Mechanical Road Sweepers, litter pickers and anti-smog guns, and conducting a strong crackdown on open waste burning.

Enforcement of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste norms at sites over 500 sq metres has also been tightened, he added, according to the statement.

The minister stressed that real-time pollution surveillance -- including AI-enabled tools, hotspot identification, traffic management inputs and continuous industry and vehicular emission checks -- will be integrated more closely into policy-making and enforcement.

He also called for stronger public engagement through citizen-volunteer networks and grievance platforms such as the Sameer and Green Delhi apps, saying a clean-air future "depends on partnership between the government, institutions and residents".

Representatives from WRI India, SPA Delhi, CSTEP Noida, ICCT, CEEW, EPIC India, CSE, Clean Air Fund, Clean Air Asia, Seeds Technical Services and the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy were among those present, along with senior officers of the DPCC.

The government said expert feedback will be incorporated into ongoing policy refinements and inter-agency coordination to deliver cleaner air through innovation, data-driven strategies and sustained community participation. PTI NSM NB NB