Garbage accumulated in the vacant ground near Kushal Cinema in Jahangirpuri also increases pollution. Jagran Archive
Sanjeev Gupta, New Delhi. A shocking report has emerged amidst all the campaigns being run to improve air quality across the country including Delhi. According to the latest study by 'Health Effects Institute' (HEI), in the year 2024, all the 20 most polluted monitoring centers of India are located in Delhi.
According to the report, Jahangir Puri of North Delhi has emerged as the most polluted place in the country. The annual concentration of PM 10 here has been recorded at 276.1 micrograms per cubic metre, which is several times more than the prescribed standards. At the same time, a significant increase in the level of pollution has been recorded in areas like Punjabi Bagh and RK Puram, which is a matter of concern.
Assessing the impacts of the "National Clean Air Programme" launched by the Central Government in January 2019, the report said that the situation in Delhi has been mixed. A decline in PM 10 levels has also been seen at 20 out of 40 stations in Delhi. The maximum improvement was recorded in the air especially around Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
In this report, experts have also warned that even though the data shows some decline in pollution of 20 monitoring centres, Delhi still remains India's biggest pollution "hotspot". It is also a matter of concern that most of the 20 monitoring centers which have been most polluted are also part of the 13 already identified hotspots of Delhi. This shows that the situation of these hotspots is not only improving, new hotspots are emerging.
20 different areas of Delhi polluted across the country
Main reason for pollution at some major hotspots
Paper plans continued to be made in the name of government efforts
13 pollution hot spots were identified in Delhi in 2018. But none of them were left out of this list. Hotspots kept increasing. It is said that these are mentioned every time in the Winter Action Plan, but nothing happens on the ground. The government had even forgotten them in this year's plan.
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