New Delhi: The Delhi government has stepped up its efforts to combat pollution, introducing 150 new electric buses on the roads and launching 13 new air quality monitoring stations to track pollution levels. Under the Seva Sankalp campaign, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta flagged off the new buses from the Anand Vihar Inter-State Bus Terminal. Meanwhile, the pollution monitoring system was strengthened with the launch of an Integrated Control Centre at the Pollution Control Committee’s facility in Shastri Park.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the government was working simultaneously on modernising transport, adopting advanced technology and strengthening infrastructure to curb pollution. The objective is to make public transportation cleaner and more environmentally friendly.
Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the Integrated Control Centre was functioning as a war room in the fight against pollution. Artificial intelligence-based cameras and real-time data are being used to monitor more than 700 construction sites, road-cleaning activities, open waste burning and other pollution-causing activities. With the addition of the new stations, the total number of air quality monitoring stations has increased to 60.
According to Transport Minister Dr Pankaj Kumar Singh, the addition of the new buses has taken Delhi’s electric bus fleet to 5,238. The national capital has approximately 6,988 buses in its total fleet. Electric vehicle charging stations have also been inaugurated at five locations.
The government aims to expand the city’s bus fleet to approximately 14,000 buses by the financial year 2028–29. The challenge now lies in implementing these initiatives effectively on the ground so that residents of Delhi can experience meaningful relief from pollution.
