Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday admitted that nearly 40 per cent of the pollution in Delhi is caused by the transport sector due to heavy dependence on fossil fuels, while pitching for a shift towards alternative fuels.
The senior BJP leader also said he visited the city only for a few days at a time, yet still developed an infection because of the toxic air.
“I hardly stay in Delhi for even two days, yet I develop an infection. Delhi is reeling under severe pollution. As the transport minister, I accept that nearly 40 per cent of the pollution is caused by my sector. This is largely due to the use of fossil fuels. Although we have developed alternative solutions, people are still hesitant to adopt them,” Gadkari said at the book launch of former central information commissioner Uday Mahurkar in Delhi.
He also highlighted the economic and environmental cost of India’s dependence on fossil fuels.
“India spends nearly Rs 22 lakh crore on importing fossil fuels which cause pollution. Can we not move towards a self-reliant India by using biofuels? I am using a car that runs on 100 per cent ethanol. It also generates 60 per cent electricity and produces zero pollution,” he added.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday remarked that authorities must consider exempting air purifiers from GST, treating the prevailing air pollution situation in the national capital as an “emergency.”
A division bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was hearing a public interest litigation seeking to declare air purifiers as “medical devices” and remove the 18 per cent GST imposed on them.
The court expressed displeasure over the lack of action in the matter, observing that every citizen requires fresh air, which the authorities had failed to provide.
Delhi’s air quality showed marginal improvement on Wednesday morning, moving to the ‘very poor’ category from ‘severe’ a day earlier, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
The city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 336 in the morning, compared to 415 on Tuesday.
Of the 40 air quality monitoring stations in the national capital, 36 recorded AQI levels in the ‘very poor’ category.
Nehru Nagar reported the highest AQI reading at 392, as per the CPCB’s Sameer app.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.
Fog and smog reduced visibility in parts of the city during the early morning hours.
Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 10.2 degrees Celsius, which was 2.7 notches above normal, while the maximum temperature is expected to hover around 19 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department said.
The humidity level stood at 100 per cent, and the IMD has forecast moderate fog during the day.