NEW DELHI: Delhi’s AAP government and the BJP engaged in a war of words as the ongoing pollution crisis in the capital city worsened, as the national capital recorded its second-worst air quality in six years on Monday.
Chief Minister (CM) Atishi on Monday slammed the central government for its alleged inaction and accused it of remaining silent on the crisis.
Claiming Punjab’s efforts in reducing stubble burning incidents, Atishi blamed BJP-run states in North and central India for the unabated rise in farm fires which have resulted in deterioration of air quality in the capital.
“While the BJP-ruled states are witnessing an alarming rise in stubble-burning cases, Punjab stands as the sole exception. In Punjab, stubble-burning incidents have been reduced by 80%, from 73,300 in 2021 to 8,404 in 2024. Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of stubble-burning cases, recording 9,600 incidents between September 15 and November 17. This has pushed air quality in its cities to hazardous levels,” she stated.
However, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said that it was regrettable to see that on a day when the national capital wanted the government to announce some drastic pollution relief measures, CM Atishi chose to do a press conference to defend her party’s Punjab government and to falsely accuse the central government.
He further stated that before accusing the Centre, she should have checked where about 1.75 lakh stubble clearing machines provided by the Centre to the Punjab government had disappeared.
Meanwhile, the party conducted a mask distribution drive outside metro stations on Monday morning.
Leading the campaign, Sachdeva was joined by senior party figures, including MLA Vijender Gupta, MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, MP Praveen Khandelwal, and other party leaders.
On Monday. 15 monitoring stations saw AQI levels reaching the maximum limit of 500. With the average air quality index breaching the “severe-plus” category (450+) on Sunday, the Commission for Air Quality Management has ordered the implementation of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage-IV restrictions in Delhi-NCR.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the government is taking all necessary measures to tackle air pollution and will implement additional steps, including the odd-even vehicle rationing scheme, based on expert advice and requirements.
“From our side, the Delhi government is taking all the necessary steps. We are monitoring everything closely and making decisions on a daily basis. We will consult experts and take all required measures,” the Minister said in a press conference.
The minister also said that the health department was directed to form a special task force at LNJP Hospital to address pollution-related medical emergencies. No clarification came on the Work From Home for the city’s population which is a restrictive measure under the GRAP IV.