Delhi Minister Urges Uttar Pradesh to Control Non-Destined Vehicles on City Routes

New Delhi: Delhi’s Environment Minister, Gopal Rai, has written to Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister Dayashankar Singh, urging action against the movement of non-destined vehicles through the national capital from UP’s border. Rai highlighted that these vehicles, which were supposed to be diverted through Eastern and Western Peripheral ways, are entering Delhi and causing vehicular air pollution.

In the letter, Rai stated, “It was noticed that non-destined vehicles, which were supposed to be diverted through the Eastern and Western Peripheral ways are entering through the border and plying via Delhi for their out-of-Delhi destinations, causing vehicular air pollution in Delhi.”

Delhi's Environment Minister Gopal has written to Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister asking for action on the plying of non-destined vehicles in Delhi from UP's border, in view of the air pollution situation. pic.twitter.com/HHAjWmwNUD

— ANI (@ANI) November 11, 2023

Rai also requested the UP minister to ensure that trucks carrying non-essential goods are redirected through peripheral expressways to prevent traffic congestion at Delhi’s borders. He emphasized the need for additional enforcement teams at entry points to peripheral ways to implement these directives effectively.

Under the final stage of the Graded Response Action Plan, only CNG, electric, and BS VI-compliant vehicles from other states are permitted to enter Delhi, with exemptions for essential services.

Regarding pollution levels, Rai acknowledged that rain had temporarily reduced pollution by 50%, improving the air quality index (AQI) in Delhi from 450 to 225. However, he cautioned that it was too early to predict how long this positive impact would last.

Delhi and its neighboring regions experienced intermittent showers, providing relief from the severe air quality that had persisted in the National Capital Region (NCR) in recent days. As of Saturday morning, Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI stood at 213, marked as “poor,” reflecting an improvement from the previous day’s reading of 279.