Delhi's Air Quality Worsens As AAP, BJP Engaged In Blame Game

Delhi's air quality entered the 'severe' zone on Saturday morning with the pollution levels reaching their highest since January. Meanwhile, AAP and BJP have started trading blame as the Air Quality Index (AQI) touched the 400-500 range.

A BJP delegation led by the party’s state unit chief Adesh Gupta on Saturday submitted a memorandum to Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Chairperson MM Kutty and expressed concern over the polluted and toxic air in Delhi. BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh, senior leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa, media relations in-charge Harish Khurana, spokespersons Yasir Jilani and Ajay Sehrawat were part of the delegation.

What is BJP saying?

The pollution situation in Delhi is becoming very serious year after year, the BJP alleged in the memorandum.

Speaking to reporters later, Gupta said the air in Delhi had become so toxic and polluted that it was bound to cause lung disease.

“This is a serious matter. Despite this, instead of taking any concrete steps for prevention, (Delhi Chief Minister Arvind) Kejriwal is running away from his responsibilities.

“Since the beginning, the Kejriwal government has been making rhetoric about pollution, but even today the situation remains the same,” Gupta said.

The BJP leader added, “It will not be an exaggeration if it is said that the Kejriwal government has proved to be a complete failure in preventing pollution.” Gupta said the Kejriwal government earlier blamed stubble burning in Punjab for pollution in the national capital. He added that since his party (AAP) came to power in Punjab, it had proved unsuccessful in stopping stubble burning.

Recent reports suggest that stubble burning had taken place at more than 10,000 places since September 15, the BJP’s Delhi unit chief said.

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AAP attacks LG

On Saturday, AAP workers protested in front of the Delhi Lieutenant Governor's office, claiming he purposely did not approve their 'Red Light on, Gaadi Off' campaign aimed towards reducing pollution.

However, LG VK Saxena refuted the allegation and said that AAP  "lied" about the rollout date of the campaign.

Saxena asked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to reconsider the 'Red light on, Gaadi off' campaign, questioning the effectiveness of such an "ad-hoc" measure as the national capital reels under high air pollution level, sources said on Saturday.

The AAP government had earlier attacked the LG, alleging that delay in approving the proposal had forced it to postpone the October 28 launch of the campaign. But sources in the LG office claimed that city Environment Minister Gopal Rai had lied as the file sent by the chief minister mentioned the date of launch as October 31.

The month-long 'Red light on, Gaadi off' campaign aims at encouraging drivers to turn off the ignition of their vehicles while waiting at traffic signals.

"The LG has sent the file to Chief Minister Kejriwal with the advice to reconsider the proposal," a source said.

The LG objected to the "inhuman" and "exploitative use" of Civil Defence Volunteers (CDVs) at extremely polluted traffic intersections and sites, a source said.

The basic premise of the campaign which seeks to risk the health of few individuals on the assumption of protecting the health of many is faulty and does not appear to have any parallel in any other civilised metropolitan city, the LG office sources said.

“Moreover, any effective and sustainable solution to this longstanding problem will involve technological interventions and not ad hoc steps, year after year.

"In the long run technological solutions need to be found for enforcement of such measures, rather than deploying humans and putting them at risk," the source said.

The LG has also highlighted that the “outcome" of the previous campaigns is not reflected in the proposal and there is no impact assessment report provided to support the effectiveness of the earlier campaigns in improving air quality in the city.

"Also, the multiple risks posed to the safety and health of the volunteers proposed to be deployed at the traffic cross sections under the campaign, merits serious attention," a source said.

The LG also noted that the proposal was pending at the level of the chief minister for more than 10 days from October 12  to October 21 and the file was received in his office only on October 21.

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Centre bans construction 

The Centre’s air quality panel on Saturday directed authorities in the National Capital Region to implement curbs such as a ban on construction and demolition activities under Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

The restrictions will not be applicable on essential projects concerning national security, defence, railways and metro rail.

GRAP is a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in the capital and its vicinity according to the severity of the situation.

It classifies the air quality in Delhi-NCR under four different stages: Stage I – ‘Poor’ (AQI 201-300); Stage II – ‘Very Poor’ (AQI 301-400); Stage III – ‘Severe’ (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV – ‘Severe Plus’ (AQI >450).

At 4 pm, Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality index stood at 397, the worst since January. It was 354 on Thursday, 271 on Wednesday, 302 on Tuesday and 312 on Monday (Diwali). 

(with PTI inputs)