Carpooling app in the works to cut emissions: Sirsa

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Wednesday said the government is working on a carpooling app to reduce pollution caused by vehicular emissions.

An overhaul of the pollution under control (PUC) certificate-issuing centres and the development of an integrated traffic management system are also under way, he added.

“There is no system in place right now for carpooling. We are trying to make an app for it, which is easy to download and use,” Mr. Sirsa said while addressing the media.

He said many shortcomings have been observed at the PUC certificate-issuing centres, which are over 15 years old. “We are overhauling the PUC centres. This will include a provision for third-party audits,” the Minister said.

As part of the integrated traffic management system, the government will interlink traffic signals to ease congestion and work with private firms to identify air pollution hotspots, he added.

Delhi’s air quality showed a slight improvement during the day, though it remained in the ‘very poor’ category. It is unlikely to change over the next three days, according to official data.

The government’s “no PUC certificate, no fuel” rule and a ban on the entry of non-BS-IV vehicles from outside will come into effect on Thursday.

War of words

Mr. Sirsa hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for “deliberately burning garbage” in the city. “With folded hands, I request AAP and [its party chief] Arvind Kejriwalji, please don’t indulge in such dirty politics,” he said.

In response, AAP accused him of “indulging in lies” and “manipulating” air quality index (AQI) data. “We would request the Minister to lodge an FIR if he has any evidence,” read a statement issued by the Opposition party.

Workers to be compensated: Mishra

Labour and Employment Minister Kapil Mishra on Wednesday announced a one-time compensation of ₹10,000 for 2,57,244 registered construction workers who lost income due to the suspension of construction and demolition activities under Stages III and IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

The Centre invoked the heightened restrictions to curb air pollution across Delhi and the National Capital Region.