Vijayawada: In a bid to reduce air pollution in the state, New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) vice-chairman S Ramana Reddy announced that one lakh e-vehicles would be provided to government officials. Addressing the 5th Air Quality Monitoring Committee (AQMC) meeting in Vijayawada on Thursday, Reddy hoped to increase charging points for e-vehicles to enable more people to choose the environmentally-friendly option.
The eight non-attainment cities that were identified by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) submitted their actions plans for control of ambient air pollution at the meeting. The committee approved city action plans and recommended forwarding them to CPCB for further approval. Speaking on the occasion, environment secretary and member secretary of Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) G Vijay Kumar explained that earlier there were only five non-attainment cities in the state, namely Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Nellore and Kurnool.
The eight additions are; Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Rajamahendravaram, Eluru, Chittoor, Ongole, Kadapa and Anantapur. A K Parida, chairman of APPCB, issued a target to non-attainment cities to come up with ways to reduce air pollution by 20 to 25% in the next three years and suggested coordination between municipal commissioners of non-attainment cities and regional officers of PCB in districts.
The AQMC initiative returned in 2018 with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordering all states and Union territories to prepare action plans to fight air pollution. The eight non-attainment cities submitted their action plans to CPCB in December 2019.