NEW DELHI: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and his Haryana counterpart M L Khattar said they had cordial and fruitful talks on the issue of steps to be taken to reduce crop residue burning and vehicular pollution. "We recognised our deep and shared concern over the recent episode of heavy smog in our National Capital Region. We agreed upon the need for action on many measures aimed at preventing its re-occurrence in the winter of 2018," said a joint statement issued after the meeting.
Khattar said that while he was concerned about condition of air in all of northern India, Delhi's pollution should be of special concern because it is "after all the national capital. It (Delhi) is the country's capital so we should all make all efforts to remedy the situation," said Khattar in a joint media briefing with Kejriwal after their meeting.
"We had a very positive discussion, we will take all steps possible to tackle the situation," said Kejriwal. He said steps would be taken to decongest traffic and bring down pollution caused by vehicles. "I believe that message should go out that at the top level whatever steps are needed to be taken we are ready to take those steps. This is an indication to governments of both the states that strict steps should be taken to curb pollution," he added.
During the discussions, the two sides agreed that serious health risks to which such episodes of smog expose one and all require concrete and quick action on a number of fronts. Earlier in the day, Kejriwal was greeted by protesting Congress and Akali Dal workers when he arrived at Chandigarh airport en route to a meeting with Khattat. The Congress government in Punjab is fighting with Kejriwal on the issue of crop residue burning. Amarinder refused to meet Kejriwal on his Chandigarh trip despite the former's request.
Amarinder has consistently said that the state's farmers cannot afford to dispose of crop residue any other way than by burning. He said that pollution levels in Delhi-NCR are up not just due to burning of crop residue but also due to large-scale construction, vehicle emissions and polluting industries.
"The sheer cost involved in managing the huge amount of paddy straw left behind every season is mind-boggling and simply out of the reach of the farmers. And, unfortunately, the state government also lacks the funds needed to take on such an onerous task," Amarinder said in a statement.
