AP to introduce green technologies to combat air pollution in Visakha: Pawan

Vijayawada: Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has said that the state government will adopt green technologies to reduce air pollution levels in Visakhapatnam.

On Thursday, he was responding to questions from Legislative Council Rama Rao and Bhoomireddy Ramgopal Reddy on rising air pollution levels in the steel city.

The Deputy Prime Minister listed a number of measures to tackle the problem of air pollution. This is timely implementation of the National Clean Air Program by providing adequate resources to GVMC; strict adherence to emission standards through the implementation of the latest equipment and control processes; initiating measures to conserve and recycle resources where possible as part of a circular economy; using biodegradable materials instead of single-use plastics, which are banned in the state; ensuring coordination with the departments of industry, transport, agriculture, environment and forests, science and technology and municipal administration on the implementation of the national clean air program.

The PC said coordination efforts with several concerned departments were aimed at preventing pollution contributing factors such as road dust, vehicle emissions, construction dust, fugitive emissions from Visakhapatnam port and pollution from other industries, as well as open burning of biomass and etc.

He expressed a plan to consult with stakeholders, non-governmental organizations, academicians, environmentalists and scientists to find local solutions to the problem. The plan is to involve the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and other research institutions in transferring their new technologies.

Pawan Kalyan has appealed to businesses to utilize corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for a range of activities aimed at controlling pollution. He called for massive greening of the city as well as industrial areas through resource mobilization involving non-governmental organizations, educational institutions and environmental activists.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the government will take all necessary measures to reduce pollution in the city. An amount of 19.15 crore has been utilized by GVMC from 2022 to 2024 for mitigation of air pollution. “Although the Center has allocated ₹129.25 crore under NCAP, the YSR Congress government has failed to utilize the funds. We will allocate funds as required to combat air pollution,” he said.