NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP traded sharp accusations on Tuesday over responsibility for Delhi’s crippling air pollution crisis, which continues to drive the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) past the 400-mark. Blaming the BJP-led Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and other agencies for the city’s toxic smog, AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Today I read in a newspaper that the contribution from stubble burning for city’s pollution is only 8% percent. This means 92% of this pollution is the responsibility of the Delhi government, MCD and all the agencies here which are all BJP controlled.”
Bharadwaj cited statements from two central government institutions—the Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, and the Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research—to highlight a 95% reduction in stubble burning incidents in Punjab under the AAP government.
He presented satellite data showing a decline in total stubble burning incidents across the region: from 1,07,000 in 2020 (with 83,000 in Punjab) to an estimated 3,500 to 4,000 this year. “This means a near 95 percent decline from 83,000,” he claimed, adding that central departments had congratulated the Punjab Government and Punjab’s farmers for this achievement. Bharadwaj then targeted the BJP-led government for alleged pollution mismanagement, accusing officials of data manipulation by shutting down and hosing down AQI monitoring stations to falsify readings.
He also claimed that officials responsible for enforcing the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) had turned fines for construction activity into a “money making business,” indicating rampant corruption.
In a swift rebuttal, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva condemned the AAP’s statements and reaffirmed that while stubble burning may not be the primary cause, it is “certainly a major factor.” Sachdeva highlighted past actions by the AAP government, noting that then-chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had written multiple letters to both the Punjab and Central governments between 2015 and 2021 demanding a ban on stubble burning in Punjab.
Furthermore, Sachdeva questioned the consistency of AAP’s messaging. He referenced previous statements by former AAP Environment Minister Gopal Rai from 2022 to 2024, in which Rai annually acknowledged only a 25 to 30 percent decrease in stubble burning since the AAP came to power in Punjab.
“The people of Delhi want to know from Bhagwant Mann whether Arvind Kejriwal and Gopal Rai also falsely accused Punjab of increasing Delhi’s pollution,” Sachdeva said.
He also claimed that the central government had provided numerous resources to the Punjab government for stubble pollution control, which had not been properly distributed to farmers.
At present, Stage-III of the extant GRAP is in force across the entire NCR. Stage-III of GRAP imposes stringent measures when the Air Quality Index (AQO) reaches the “severe” category.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) classifies an AQI between 0 and 50 as ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.