NEW DELHI: With the Air Quality Index (AQI) slipping to “very poor” category and the Yamuna River enveloped in toxic froth, a blame game has begun in the city between the AAP-led government and the opposition BJP.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday claimed that the pollution in the Yamuna River has gone down, even as he attracted a rebuke from the BJP over its “failed” anti-pollution measures.
The ‘very poor’ air quality in Delhi also prompted the government to impose restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) stage II from Tuesday.
Rai alleged that the pollution in Delhi and the NCR is rising because of certain practices being allowed in the neighbouring states ruled by the BJP. “The pollution in the Yamuna has reduced and it will go down further, but the BJP needs to stop politics over it,” he said.
The AAP leader said there is no froth in the Yamuna throughout the year and it appears only around Diwali and Chhath. “The froth in the Yamuna appeared only at Kalindikunj, where water from Uttar Pradesh drained into the river,” he said.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the city has turned into a “mini gas chamber” even before the onset of winter. Sachdeva also demanded the AAP government give financial relief to labourers, street vendors, and other daily wage earners affected by GRAP II restrictions.
“The AAP government in Delhi has completely failed to implement anti-pollution measures. As a result, the city has turned into a mini gas chamber,” he said.
He accused Rai of singling out the BJP governments in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, while forgetting about AAP-ruled Punjab, when he wrote letters to their transport ministers to restrict sending diesel buses into the national capital.
Since the Haryana government ‘ruled by the BJP‘ has begun filing police FIRs against those burning parali (paddy stubble), Rai must tell what steps Punjab has taken to bring down pollution, Sachdeva said.
Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta, in a letter to Chief Minister Atishi, said that 800 electric buses were standing still because the AAP government has not paid Rs 75 crore it owed to a company operating the buses.
