Air pollution: NCR state officials meet ahead of SC hearing

New Delhi, Nov 16 A meeting between the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) and the Chief Secretaries of the NCR states and Punjab was underway on Tuesday in connection with the severe air pollution in the region ahead of a Supreme Court hearing on the matter.

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) Secretary R.P. Gupta is also attending the meeting which began at 10 a.m.

The Supreme Court on Monday came down heavily on the Centre and the states, especially the Delhi government, for their failure to reign in air pollution that had reached hazardous levels last week and is now hovering around under the 'severe' and 'very poor' categories.

The CAQM is a dedicated Commission which monitors the air quality of Delhi and NCR's districts of Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh by taking an air shed approach.

Air shed is a geographic area wherein meteorological factors influences the air quality.

Earlier on Monday, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav held a review meeting with Ministry officials on the air pollution issue.

This was crucial in terms of strategy planning ahead of the CAQM meeting, which in turn, is important as demanded by the Supreme Court.

The apex court, which will hear the case on Tuesday again, has even suggested a lockdown to cut down on emissions.

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