New Delhi, November 6: Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar held a meeting to discuss "steps taken for prevention of air pollution in Delhi-NCR with emphasis on finding a permanent solution" on Friday. He virtually launched a demonstration plant at Pune which produces compressed biogas from biomass.

"To combat air pollution, we have established a commission which will be led by the former chief secretary of Delhi, MM Kutty. It will start the work soon and work with neighbouring states to reduce air pollution in north India," Prakash Javadekar said. SAMEER App: Prakash Javadekar Appeals All Indians to Download The Mobile Application to Track Pollution.

Prakash Javadekar Launches Biomass Plant

"Government is taking all steps to combat air pollution in Delhi and North India and we will be using all possible technological interventions towards that. We have launched a demonstration plant virtually at Pune which produces compressed biogas from biomass," Javadekar tweeted.

According to an official statement, top officials of the Union Environment and the Health Ministries and the governments of Delhi, Haryana and Punjab attended the meeting. Dr MM Kutty, ex-secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was appointed as the president and Arvind K Nautiyal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment as a full-time member of the panel.

The air pollution in the national capital continued to deteriorate, as the Air Quality Index (AQI) mounted to the "severe" category on Friday. According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the overall air quality recorded in Delhi was at 486.