Authorities in Delhi — ranked the most polluted capital city in the world — have announced a plan to tackle the problem of high air pollution levels during winter.
The city, home to 22 million people, suffers from year-round air pollution but levels of toxic air particularly surge during winter months, when winds push the smoke from vast farmlands into the city.
The sudden increase in winter months is blamed on farmers burning crop stubble in northern states.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced a 15-point plan, with “visionary” measures to tackle air pollution, including spraying bio-decomposer to end the burning of crop stubble.
Vehicle and industrial emissions as well as construction and road dust are major sources of air pollution in Delhi.
Mr Kejriwal said that his government will begin an anti-dust campaign in October.
"Winters are approaching and each year, we observe a rise in the pollution levels of Delhi in winters. The Delhi Government has made all the arrangements to tighten a noose on pollution this winter,” Mr Kejriwal said.
The city’s air pollution levels were among the highest of 6,475 cities, in 117 countries in 2021, according to a World Air Quality report released by Swiss organisation IQAir in May.
It had an average PM 2.5 exposure was 110 micrograms per cubic metre in 2019, 22 times the WHO benchmark that considers 5 micrograms as the safe level.
The Particulate Matter or PM 2.5 is the finest dust particle measuring less than 2.5 microns that could penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream.
Environmental charity Greenpeace said more than 50,000 Delhi residents died in 2020, due to hazardous levels of PM 2.5.
Over the years the government has imposed short-term measures such as restricting car use, shutting power plants and factories, and banning construction activities during winter months to mitigate the pollution crisis.
It has also regularly closed down schools and offices during winters to limit the impact of air pollution on residents amid concerns from the courts that warned the government to take long-term measures to clean the city’s air.
Previously, the top court compared the city’s air quality to a “gas chamber.”
Mr Kerjiwal said the use of anti-smog guns has been made mandatory for construction sites exceeding 5,000 square metres and nearly 600 teams will monitor its compliance.
He further said that road-sweeping and water-sprinkling machines will be deployed across the city to curb dust, in addition to mobile anti-smog guns.
Stubble burning becomes an issue every year at the onset of winter when farmers in the vast farmlands of neighboring states of Haryana and Punjab burn paddy stubble to clear their fields for the next crop.
Most of the smoke travels to Delhi due to south-western winds and mixes with the city air to form a noxious blanket of smog, aggravating the pollution crisis.
Although the practice is outlawed, more than 70,000 cases of farm fires were reported in the twin breadbasket states in November last year.
The government has also continued with the ban on firecrackers that aggravate the air pollution crisis every year during Diwali—the Hindu festival of lights.
“The government will also ban the production, storage, distribution and purchase of firecrackers.”
“I am completely optimistic that we will curb air pollution in winters with the cooperation of the people of Delhi,” he said.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
