NITI Aayog wants phasing out of pvt diesel vehicles

The NITI Aayog has, in its action plan for 10 most polluted cities, has suggested phasing out private diesel vehicles.

It has also proposed to install smog-free towers at all construction sites by 2019 in order to substantially reduce the level of air pollution in Indian cities.

Installation of smog-free towers is another crucial point that the commission suggested as one of the vital measures to clean up dirty cities.

“Smog-free tower is an innovative technological solution deployed across Europe, which cleans the polluted air in an area around it. A 23-foot tall air purification system with a cost of $54,000 (nearly Rs 37 lakh) will clean up 30,000 cubic metres of air per hour of ultra-fine smog to create smog-free bubbles in public spaces. These can be installed at the point source of construction activities,” NITI Aayog said in its report on Wednesday.

Other proposals include implementing a national emission trading system, having a business model to utilise crop residue so that farmers don't burn them and replacing all government vehicles more than 15 years old with electric and hybrid vehicles in the next 3 years.

Polluting power plants around big cities are to be decommissioned in the next five years. Also, compulsory mechanised dust removal by 2019 and tasking the municipalities with the job of making bricks from the road dust are among the measures suggested by the Ayog.

In a report released in May, the World Health Organisation showed that 14 of the world's 15 most polluted cities (in terms of PM 2.5 level) are Kanpur topping the chart followed by Faridabad, Gaya, Varanasi, Patna and Delhi in descending order.

“NITI Aayog has developed 15 action points across a range of industries and sectors. It calls for concerted action from all levels of governance, cutting across Ministries and Departments. While a majority of these Action Points present immediate tasks that should be undertaken by the concerned authorities, they also include activities that are more long-term in nature,” says the report titled Breath India – An Action Plan for Combating Air Pollution.