Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has rolled out a sweeping plan to tackle the capital’s long-standing air pollution problem, pledging an era of scientific innovation, public participation and green mobility.

“Air pollution has been a recurrent problem in Delhi. People have suffered for far too long,” CM Gupta said during a press briefing. “But now, we are taking historic steps that will bring visible, measurable change.”

In a pioneering move, Delhi will soon witness artificial rain, thanks to a pilot cloud-seeding project initiated through a Memorandum of Understanding with IIT Kanpur. “It’s a historic collaboration to test and study the effectiveness of cloud seeding in dust mitigation,” an official source said.

More MOUs will follow with leading scientific organisations to test and implement innovative solutions. The government is also involving the youth in various programmes to spread awareness and generate local solutions.

Thirteen key pollution hotspots have been identified, where immediate dust and emission control efforts are being launched.