A new tussle started between the Delhi Lieutenant Governor, VK Saxena and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the inauguration of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprasth University in East Delhi.

Delhi education minister, Atishi had announced the inauguration of the university by the Delhi CM which prompted the Delhi LG to issue a statement saying, “Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal himself was aware of the fact that the L-G was scheduled to inaugurate the campus. In fact, they were also aware that they were supposed to be present in the function as Guest of Honour and distinguished guest, as desired by the L-G and had also consented to it.”

“Moreover, even on the day when Atishi made this claim in a press conference, i.e. 06.06.2023, earlier during the day, the VC of GGSIPU had announced on stage at the Convocation of GGSIPU, where Atishi was present as a Guest of Honour, that the East Campus of the University was scheduled to be inaugurated by the Lt. Governor on 08.06.2023,” it added.  

Reacting to this Delhi education minister, Atishi said that the L-G should not forget that education, higher education and technical education are all transferred subjects.

Even Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj reacted to this, saying that the L-G should focus on inauguration of buildings which come under Police, Land and Public order.

“The construction of this campus started when he (VK Saxena) was not the L-G. Manish Sisodia started this work and our elected government took it further. It is strange now for the L-G to say that he was asked by officials to inaugurate the university campus,” Bhardwaj said.

“At this rate, the L-G could say tomorrow that he would inaugurate Saurabh Bhardwaj’s office. That’s why L-G has kept all officers under his control and wants to keep it going. The CM is the one vested with the moral authority to inaugurate the campus. Such thoughts should not even come to the L-G’s mind,” he added.

Tensions have been rising between the Delhi L-G and Delhi CM for the past few years over various matters. Notably, in May this year a Supreme Court judgement had ruled that the Delhi government had powers over civil services in the Delhi after which the Centre had brought in an ordinance regarding civil services giving more power to the L-G, creating more friction between the two posts.

6.3 C
New York

Road traffic and domestic heating cause poor air quality across Europe

Europe

Published:

Reading time: 2 min.

Emissions from road traffic and domestic heating behind breaches of EU air quality standards across Europe — European Environment Agency

Over the period 2014 to 2020, 944 air quality plans were reported to the EEA, according to the briefing ‘Managing air quality in Europe’. Authorities in Member States are required to set up air quality plans to reduce air pollution in areas where EU air quality standards are exceeded and protect public health and ecosystems. The majority of the air quality plans focus on reducing levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter with a diameter of 10 µm or less (PM10).

From 2014 to 2020, just under two thirds of all reported exceedances of air quality standards were linked to dense traffic in urban centers and proximity to major roads, mainly due to emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). Road traffic was a key source of air pollution in western and northern Europe, with six countries, namely Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the United Kingdom*, reporting road traffic as the only source of exceedances.

In contrast, in southern and eastern Europe domestic heating was an important source driving exceedances of standards for PM10. Countries that reported domestic heating as a significant driver of exceedances include Croatia, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, andSlovenia.   

In terms of measures put in place to reduce emissions under air quality plans, two thirds focused on reducing emissions of NOx from the transport sector, while only 12% focused on domestic heating and 4% on the agricultural sector, the latter two being important sources of particulate matter.

According to the EEA report ‘Air quality in Europe 2021’, exposure to air pollution caused a significant burden of premature death and disease in the 27 EU Member States in 2019, with 307,000 premature deaths attributed to fine particulate matter and 40,400 to NO2. 

Under the European Green Deal’s Zero Pollution Action Plan, the European Commission set the 2030 goal of reducing the number of premature deaths caused by PM2.5 by at least 55% compared with 2005 levels. To this end, the European Commission committed to revising relevant policies that reduce air pollutant emissions at source, such as from road transport and buildings. The Commission is also revising the Ambient Air Quality Directives to align EU air quality standards more closely with  new WHO air quality guidelines published in September 2021.

Background on air quality plans

The EU’s ambient air quality directives set air quality standards for certain pollutants in ambient air to protect human health and the environment. If these values are exceeded, Member States are required to take necessary action to reduce the concentrations of air pollutants and prepare an air quality plan that sets appropriate measures. The aim is to keep the exceedance period as short as possible.

*EEA products, websites and services may refer to research carried out prior to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Research and data relating to the UK will generally be explained by using terminology such as: “EU-27 and the UK” or “EEA-32 and the UK”. Exceptions to this approach will be clarified in the context of their use.

TheDaniPostTeam
TheDaniPostTeamhttps://thedanipost.com

Related articles

Recent articles

Editorial enquiry: contact@hypemachine.in

Premium Content

All Rights reserved to The Dani Post