Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced that her government will launch the ‘Clean Air, Healthy Delhi’ project aimed at effectively tackling air pollution in the national capital.
The ambitious Environment Department’s project will be completed in seven years with financial assistance from the World Bank and other multilateral institutions. It aims to accelerate the implementation of Delhi’s air pollution mitigation plan under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
According to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, a special workshop will be held on July 10 to finalise preparations for the programme and strengthen coordination among all stakeholders. The workshop will define the roles of various departments and agencies and discuss the roadmap for effective and timely project implementation.
Gupta said the initiative will be implemented across all districts of the national capital, starting in September this year and continuing until August 2033.
The estimated cost of the project is approximately Rs 8,300 crore. The World Bank will provide 65 per cent of the funding, while the Delhi government will bear the remaining 35 per cent.
The CM shared that the project emphasizes on sectors such as transport, road dust, construction and demolition (C&D) waste, solid waste management, industry, green spaces and water pollution.
She said the project is based on two major pillars: strengthening air quality management in Delhi, for which a dedicated Project Management Unit (PMU) will be established for effective implementation and reducing emissions from major sources of pollution.
Under the latter, older polluting vehicles will be phased out, electric vehicles will be promoted, public transport will be strengthened and an advanced Pollution Under Control (PUC) monitoring system will be developed to monitor vehicular emissions.
All the major departments and agencies of the Delhi will work together to ensure the successful implementation of the project.