Pollution level in Delhi improved in last 2 years: Govt
What's the story
Union Minister Harsh Vardhan today said, "As far as pollution in Delhi is concerned, over the last two years, the number of 'good days' for Delhi has improved and the number of 'bad days' has decreased."
Quoting findings from an ICMR study, he said in the last 20 years, there has been a reduction of 23.4% in the illnesses caused due to pollution.
Pollution levels
Good, satisfactory, moderate days in 2016, 2017
As per the AQI data, the number of good, satisfactory and moderate days in Delhi in 2017 stood at 151 compared to 109 in 2016. The number of poor, very poor and severe days was down to 180 in 2017 compared to 214 in 2016.
Vardhan observed that interventions like leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VII by 2020 were also expected to help reduce pollution.
Clean Air Program
Govt planning to spend on National Clean Air Program
Vardhan said the government has planned to spend a significant amount of money on National Clean Air Program involving 102 cities, which have to make their own plans for the program and send them to Center.
He said plans have been received from around 70 cities, of which 30 have already been approved and the remaining cities were being persuaded to formulate their plans.
Forest cover
Govt increased forest cover by 7,000sqmt in country: Vardhan
To assess pollution and its impact on tourism, an environmental health profile study was being conducted in 20 cities, Vardhan said.
"In the last two years, we have increased the forest cover in the country by about 7,000sqkm and multiple Ministries are involved in handling this issue," he said.
Vardhan said it was "debatable" whether the level of pollution overall has increased or not.