New Delhi: Encouraging people to be alert on environmental issues, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday urged people not to burst firecrackers this Diwali.
The minister, in a press conference here, said if anyone wanted to burst them at all, he should opt for green crackers.
Responding to a question on the issue of felling trees in Mumbai's Aarey forest, in which the Supreme Court has restrained authorities from cutting any more trees, Javadekar said he would not like to comment on a matter that is sub-judice.
The Union Minister also talked about pollution-related challenges, faced by the national capital. He said the Central government has taken a slew of measures for the purpose in the last four years.
"The problem of pollution began in 2005-06 and no one was talking about it until 2014 when the Modi government recognised the problem and undertook the challenge to address it," he said.
"We are bringing BS-VI compliant vehicles from next year, and 46 teams of the Central Pollution Control Board have been deployed to check the polluting activities in Delhi and NCR today onwards," Javadekar added.
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