As Delhi battles pollution, Parliamentary Standing Committee to meet over adverse effects

A meeting has been called by the Parliamentary Standing Committee to discuss the effects of air pollution and the effect it has on the lungs in the specific and overall health of the residents of Delhi. Reportedly, the meeting will be held on December 5. All stakeholders including those from health ministery, Indian Medical Research Council, land-owning agencies and urban local bodies have been asked to be present at the meeting.

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Detailed deliberations set to take place

Detailed deliberations on long term solutions that can aid in improving the air quality and lessen its impact on the health of Delhi's residents is set to be the agenda of the meeting. After this meeting, chief secretaries of three states — Delhi, Haryana, and Punjab will be invited to seek a report on the steps they have taken to curb pollution. The date of the meeting is yet to be finalised, according to sources.

Earlier, a meeting of Parliamentary Standing Committee of Ministry of Urban Development over deteriorating air quality of the capital, which was scheduled for November 15, was postponed after many officials and parliamentarians gave it a miss. Later a meeting of the parliamentary panel of urban development was held in parliament on November 20. 

Delhi's Air quality sees improvement 

Delhi's air quality improved to the 'moderate' category on Wednesday morning, after being in the 'poor' category for the past two days. The national capital's air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 158 at 9.45 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. It was 175 at 7.45 am. An AQI between 0-50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor' and 401-500 'severe'. An AQI above 500 falls in the 'severe plus' category. The city's air quality index was 254 at 9.42 am, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) on Tuesday. Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 14.5 degrees Celsius, five notches above the season's average on Wednesday morning. The relative humidity at 8.30 am was 88%.

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