‘Delhi choking under BJP rule’: Yadav raises 9 questions on pollution crisis

NEW DELHI: Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Devender Yadav launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led Delhi Government, accusing it of completely failing to curb the alarming rise in air and water pollution across the city. Yadav reminded that the BJP, in its Sankalp Patra for the Delhi Assembly elections, had promised to reduce PM2.5 and PM10 levels by half under a proposed “Delhi Clean Air Mission.” The manifesto had also pledged to halve the capital’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) and to cut down on the number of days with poor air quality.

However, the DPCC president said Delhi’s AQI has now crossed the 400 mark in more than a dozen areas, including Anand Vihar, Wazirpur, and Mundka. He pointed out that the BJP’s manifesto had promised road-sweeping machines in every Assembly constituency and water-sprinkling machines in every ward of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, along with air-purifying devices such as WAYU at major intersections. The document had also highlighted measures such as incentivising the use of electric and CNG vehicles, increasing green cover, and cleaning the Yamuna. “After eight months in power, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s government has failed to deliver on a single front,” Yadav said, adding that Delhi’s air quality had slipped from poor to severe, particularly after Diwali.

Raising nine pointed questions to the Rekha Gupta Government, Yadav asked: “How did Delhi become the world’s most polluted capital? Why do 15 out of every 100 deaths in Delhi occur due to pollution? Why did the Winter Action Plan to curb pollution fail? Why has the Yamuna not been cleaned despite thousands of crores being spent? Why was costly cloud seeding undertaken despite expert doubts from IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur? Why did BJP-ruled Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, and AAP-ruled Punjab fail to prevent stubble burning? Why has no effective action been taken to control vehicular emissions, construction dust and road dust, and why has the electric bus initiative failed? Why have no substantial steps been taken to increase Delhi’s green cover? Why have the three garbage landfills not been dismantled despite tall claims?”

Yadav further alleged that the BJP’s promises had been reduced to mere words while Delhi continues to choke under toxic air and polluted water.