The Delhi government has requested the centre to allow artificial rain in the National Capital Region (NCR) to bring down the toxic pollution levels. Accusing the centre of ignoring its earlier requests, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said artificial rain is a need of the hour and called for a meeting with the centre.
Delhi has already shut schools and stopped construction to prevent a rise in pollution that poses a serious health threat to crores of residents in the NCR. To get rid of the smog, the authorities are now exploring options like artificial rain.
Rain can be induced artificially by the cloud seeding process, which experts believe will wash away pollutants from the atmosphere.
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"Considering that air quality in Delhi has turned in severe+ category, I believe it is immediately required to consider the use of this method in present situation," Mr Rai told a press conference today.
The Delhi Environment Minister said he has written multiple letters to Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav for an emergency meeting, but there was no action. Now it is the moral responsibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene, he added.
Mr Rai said talks on artificial rain had started with IIT Kanpur last year itself, but they had cited the need for several permissions from the central government. "We started writing to the Union environment minister since August for an emergency meeting and give the required permissions," he later told NDTV.
He said he had written to the Union Environment Minister on August 30, following it up twice on October 10 and 23. There was neither any response nor any meeting called, he added.
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Mr Rai also listed the anti-pollution measures the Delhi government has taken so far, including the implementation of GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan)-IV restrictions. He said experts are being consulted to explore further measures to reduce the smog.
"One of the solutions under consideration is artificial rain, which can help settle pollutants and clear the air," he added.
Other possible measures include odd-even and work-from-home strategies, which have been implemented in the past in the national capital. Mr Rai said a decision will soon be taken in this regard.