Delhi pollution: After Amarinder’s letter to PM, Haryana’s Khattar asks Javadekar for a joint meeting of CMs

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said, “The ongoing public health emergency in NCR is a matter of serious concern for all of us.”

Hours after Punjab CM Amarinder Singh wrote to PM Modi seeking Centre’s intervention to tackle the Delhi pollution due to crop-residue burning in the neighbouring states, Haryana’s Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar too wrote to the Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar seeking a meeting of chief ministers of Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana, preferably tomorrow.

“The ongoing public health emergency in NCR is a matter of serious concern for all of us. To alleviate the suffering of people, there is a need to coordinate the efforts of all stakeholders to tackle the issue in a more sensitive and responsible manner. As no single person, organisation or government can improve the quality of air in NCR, playing politics on this serious situation is unfortunate and, in itself, a matter of concern. The focus should be on providing relief and succour to the people who are suffering due to the prevalent severe pollution in the NCR for the last couple of days,” Khattar wrote.

Watch how severe air quality makes Delhi gasp 

Later in a statement released this evening, Khattar said, “The meeting of all Chief Ministers and Environment Ministers of the concerned states will help evolve an actionable plan and a joint strategy to address the serious situation and to mitigate the suffering and hardships of the people”.

Earlier Khattar, in a telephonic conversation with the Environment Minister, requested him to convene this meeting to prepare a well-thought-out strategy that would synergize the efforts of different organizations and the government in the region.