The Union environment ministry has constituted the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and adjoining areas through a notification issued on Thursday. MM Kutty, ex-secretary, ministry of petroleum and natural gas, and former chief secretary, Delhi, has been selected to be the chairperson of the commission.
On October 29, Centre had issued an ordinance on constituting a commission to coordinate, resolve issues, implement air pollution management strategies in Delhi-NCR. It also replaced the SC-mandated Environment Pollution Control Authority constituted in 1998, and all other ad hoc committees on air pollution.
The centralised body will have a wide range of powers, including issuing directions, entertaining complaints, regulating and prohibiting activities that are likely to cause or increase air pollution, laying down parameters and standards, restricting industry, activities, processes, and directing closure or prohibiting any polluting activity in Delhi NCR and adjoining areas.
In exercise of its powers under the ordinance, a selection panel consisting of union environment minister, Prakash Javadekar, who will be the chairman of the committee; union minister of commerce, Piyush Goyal; minister of road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari; minister of science and technology, Harsh Vardhan and cabinet secretary, Rajiv Gauba selected Kutty as chairman; Arvind Kumar Nautiyal, joint secretary, as full-time member; and Professor Mukesh Khare of IIT Delhi and KJ Ramesh, former director general of IMD, as full-time technical members. Ajay Mathur, director general of The Energy and Resources Institute and Ashish Dhawan of Air Pollution Action Group have been selected as non-government members of the panel. The rest of the nine are ex-officio members who will be selected by respective state governments and organisations. The rules on the functioning of the commission are awaited.
