Delhi to be pollution-free in 3 years, promises Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday that the Centre will make Delhi free of air, water and noise pollution, in the next three years. The minister also said that pollution is the ‘biggest concern’ in the country.

Addressing the annual session of industry body PHDCCI, the Road Transport minister said that his ministry has spent ₹60,000 crore on road infrastructure development, “an effort that also helped in reducing air pollution in Delhi.”

“Air pollution, water pollution and noise pollution are major concerns for the country. We will make Delhi free of air, water and sound pollution in the next three years,” Gadkari said.

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Gadkari said the Road Transport and Highways Ministry is working on a proposal to shift all container depots and 1,700 storehouses out of Delhi. “In the next 15 days, we will be discussing that proposal with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi Development Authority (DDA),” he said.

Gadkari also said that the ministry is also building logistics park of worth one lakh crore rupees. The minister said he has put forth his suggestion to Kejriwal to run only electric buses for public transport purposes in Delhi.

“We are going to make it mandatory for all vehicle manufacturers to make flex-fuel engines (that can run on more than one fuel),” the minister said.

(With inputs from Agencies)