Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday, 25 October, proposed suspension and disciplinary action against Ashwani Kumar, chairman of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, for allegedly failing to implement the Council of Ministers' decision and arbitrarily withholding payment of Rs 2 crore to IIT Kanpur, thus allegedly endangering the health of 2 crore residents.
Rai has requested that the second installment be paid to IIT Kanpur immediately in order for the Source Apportionment Study to continue during the critical winter months. “Any evaluation or assessment of the study will be done by qualified scientists, after the high-pollution winter season is over,” said Rai.
With IIT Kanpur as a partner, the Delhi government has started a study on the "Real Time Source Apportionment" of pollution in the city to guarantee accurate data at every stage.
In an official letter Gopal Rai said, “Once the exact source apportionment of the pollution is clear, then policy measures can be taken for each of the sources accordingly."
Delhi's pollution problem is attributed to insufficient data on pollution sources and their impact. Rai mentioned that this study, aimed at reducing pollution, could have been a significant milestone, but officials' halting it has allegedly put the health of 2 crore people in Delhi at risk.
Further, Rai also said that Ashwani Kumar's intention to halt the project was evident when he noted the high cost of the study on 9 February and the need for DPCC to meet objectives before releasing the next installment.
“It was not the mandate of Chairman DPCC to question a study that has been initiated after due processes and approval by the entire cabinet; his role was to implement it. Considering that the Council of Ministers had perused the Cabinet note and then approved the proposal for the study, even if Ashwani Kumar had concerns about its efficacy, it was not in his power to stop the study,” said Gopal Rai.
On 7 July, 2021, the Delhi government awarded the "Real Time Source Apportionment and Forecasting for Advance Air Pollution Management in Delhi" project to a consortium led by IIT Kanpur, including research institutes like The Energy Research Institute (TERI), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), among others.
“Kumar has repeatedly and deliberately stalled the project for no rhyme or reason. Despite repeated reminders for clearing the pending payments and despite multiple meetings with IIT Kanpur regarding where they have explained their model, he has been raising some objection or the other with the sole purpose of off-tracking and delaying this project, which is vital for improving the air quality and for addressing the public health issue posed by air pollution in Delhi,” mentioned Rai's letter.
Services Minister Atishi highlighted the significant milestone of the source apportionment study, stating that preparing a mitigation plan without identifying the sources contributing to Delhi's pollution is impractical.
Regarding the apportionment study, Atishi said, "The data from the study showed that knowing where and what is causing pollution helped the Delhi government make a policy, but now it will not be possible to do so further by stopping payments."
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