AAP, BJP get into blame game over Delhi's pollution level post-Diwali
New Delhi: AAP on Wednesday accused the BJP government in Delhi of shutting down pollution monitoring stations and manipulating Air Quality Index data on Diwali night to conceal the situation, even as the ruling dispensation blamed Punjab's stubble burning for the national capital's 'very poor' air quality.
Monitoring stations have shown that Delhi's air pollution hit a four-year high on Diwali, with particulate matter 2.5 peaking at 675.
AAP's Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged the BJP dispensation "committed data theft at a government level" by showing AQI readings of around 350 when actual levels had crossed 1,700.
"Multiple monitoring stations operated by the Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi Pollution Control Committee, India Meteorological Department and IITM went offline at the same time and came back only after the winds cleared the air. This is dishonesty and manipulation against the people of Delhi," he claimed.
Responding to the charges, Delhi's Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, "Arvind Kejriwal has not only ruined Delhi but also Punjab. The air of Punjab is polluted now. Punjab once had very clean and fresh air, but its air has deteriorated."
He added, "If we can clean Delhi's pollution, then why can't Punjab — which was already clean — be kept that way?"
AAP's Bharadwaj said the Multiple monitoring stations going offline were aimed at misleading citizens into believing that pollution levels were manageable.
"You are cheating innocent citizens... When people hear AQI is 320 or 350, they think it's safe to step out. But in reality, the levels were dangerously high," he said.
Bharadwaj questioned why Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) was not enforced despite AQI breaching critical limits and accused the government of contempt of court for allegedly tampering with pollution data.
Sirsa on Tuesday accused the AAP government of Punjab of forcing farmers to burn crop residue to send pollution levels up in the national capital. He also showed videos, purported to be of stubble burning in Punjab, at a press conference to back his claim.
"Farmers in Punjab are being forced to burn stubble in the fields by the AAP government. The highest number of stubble burning incidents occurred in AAP-ruled Punjab on Diwali night," Sirsa said.
He claimed that while AAP leaders "condemned the Delhi chief minister, the BJP and Sanatan Dharm followers over celebration of Diwali and bursting of crackers", the real reason behind worsening air quality was stubble burning in Punjab.
Bharadwaj also slammed the BJP for "wrongly blaming Punjab's Sikh farmers" and demanded an apology for what he called "a shameful attempt to communalise pollution".
Citing data from Punjab, he claimed stubble burning incidents had reduced by nearly 90 per cent compared to 2021, and claimed its contribution to Delhi's pollution was "less than one per cent".
Meanwhile, AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha said the BJP government had "erased" DPCC and CPCB data to hide the truth.
"Every Delhiite saw AQI between 1,000 and 1,500 on their phones, but the government denied pollution exists," he said, urging the administration to implement its promised artificial rainfall and Winter Action Plan.
