BJP accuses Delhi govt of 'playing politics over pollution'; AAP cites air quality improvement

'Delhiites hope that the Kejriwal government would wake up in 2024 after the experience last year but it is regrettable that Environment Minister Gopal Rai is playing a letter game to evade responsibility,' said Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva

New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday slammed the Delhi government, accusing it of indulging in "political gimmicks" and "letter game" with the Centre on the issue of air pollution plaguing the city, instead of taking concrete steps to tackle the health hazard.

However, the AAP, in a statement, noted improvement in the city's air quality. It claimed that its government has taken "unprecedented steps" to tackle pollution, which include promotion of electric vehicles, and switching 1,800 industrial units to cleaner piped natural gas.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said the Kejriwal government should end it's "political gimmicks" and immediately call an all-party meeting with representation from its Punjab government, to discuss preparedness for tackling high air pollution levels in winter.

"Delhiites hope that the Kejriwal government would wake up in 2024 after the experience last year but it is regrettable that Environment Minister Gopal Rai is playing a letter game to evade responsibility," he charged during a press conference here.

Sachdeva's remark came in response to Rai's letter on Friday to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav urging him to convene a meeting with stakeholders to explore the feasibility of cloud seeding for artificially inducing rain to combat the city's winter air pollution.

The AAP, in its statement, said Rai has requested for a meeting with the Union environment minister to discuss measures for further reduction of pollution in the national capital but the BJP is "running away" from the meeting.

"It is noteworthy that due to relentless efforts by the Delhi government and support of the people of Delhi, the number of good, satisfactory and moderate (AQI) days increased to 206 in 2023, while it was 110 in 2017," the ruling party added.

During the press meet, Sachdeva said, "The environment minister wants to wash his hands off winter pollution by writing letters to the Centre and presenting some rhetoric through press conferences." Winter pollution in Delhi has escalated to such an extent that millions suffer from respiratory issues, and many even die unexpectedly every year because of "criminal negligence" of the AAP government, the BJP leader claimed.

He also asked Rai to provide details on artificial rain carried out in any city of the country.

"While writing letters to the Centre, Rai should also make public his initiative, if any, for stopping stubble burning in Punjab ruled by the AAP," Sachdeva said.

The Delhi environment minister should also respond to questions regarding the "wastage" of Rs 24 crore on the Connaught Place smog tower and the Real-time Source Apportionment Report that came without scientific evidence after spending Rs 13 crore, Sachdeva said.

The BJP leader also asked Rai why, over the years, concrete steps were not taken in Delhi using the Rs 38 crore special anti-pollution fund provided by the Centre and more than Rs 700 crore of the environment cess fund, along with the special stubble management fund.

Sharpening his attack on the Arvind Kejriwal government, Sachdeva claimed that in the past ten years, the Delhi government has ruined the existing roads by neglecting repairs, and now whether it is the main road or a street, all are major contributors to dust and vehicular pollution.

The Delhi government has said it is preparing a 14-point winter action plan and artificial rain happens to be one of proposed measures to tackle pollution. For this, specific permissions are needed from the central government, it said.

The AAP, also ruling in Punjab, claimed that the state which does not receive funds from the central government, saw a 50-67 per cent decrease in stubble burning last year compared to the previous year, according to data from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).