New Delhi, Nov. 3 -- Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Tuesday highlighted several measures implemented since September to curb Delhi-NCR's air pollution, including a decline in stubble burning incidents in Punjab and Haryana, even as the national capital's air quality deteriorated further to the 'very poor' category.
Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) climbed to 348 on Tuesday, against 324 on November 2 and 261 on November 1.
Yadav told the reporters that from September 15 to November 1, Punjab reported 1,514 fire counts against 2,084 incidents in 2025, a decline of 38 per cent, while Haryana recorded 42 against 118, marking a decline of 64 per cent. The measures implemented since September include the preparation of state-specific action plans for 2026 and their implementation with the goal of complete elimination of stubble burning, traffic decongestion and road dust management, among others. Also, 34 hotspot districts have been identified, and flying squads and drones have been deployed for enforcement, according to Yadav.
Ex-situ utilisation of paddy straw has doubled since 2023, with Punjab rising from 3.66 MT to 7.89 MT and Haryana from 1.32 MT to 2.71 MT, mainly through industrial boilers, biomass power plants, co-firing in thermal power plants, CBG plants and brick kilns, said the minister. He noted that under the PARIVARTAN Scheme, pre-BS-VI trucks and buses in Delhi-NCR are to be replaced by BS-VI, CNG or electric vehicles by July 2028. As of October 27, 28,929 trucks, or 15 per cent of the target of 1.95 lakh, had been registered and 2,935 replaced, while 10,434 buses, or 34 per cent, had been registered and 613 replaced.
Moreover, NCR states have deployed 8,172 city e-buses and installed 15,072 charging stations, according to Yadav. Delhi has deployed 6,949 e-buses, including 1,750 CNG buses, and installed 22,637 charging stations.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.