NEWS

The government's submission before the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the major source of pollution in the capital was dust particles, and not vehicular emissions was dismissed on Thursday by environmental activists as ridiculous, with some even questioning the intent behind the environment ministry's stand. The ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) had told the court that dust was responsible for 52.2% of the pollution load in the capital while vehicles contributed only 6.6%. But a paper by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, which started maintaining Delhi's air quality data since the 2010 Commonwealth Games, says vehicles contributed to 32% of the total particulate matter of size 2.5 micron and less (PM 2.5) in 2010. The figure has since risen to 36%. Other sources of pollution, including unpaved roads and construction activity, contributed 28% in 2010, which came down to 26% in 2013.

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