With Delhi’s air quality recorded “very poor” on Tuesday, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia appealed to the Centre to play a "crucial role" in controlling pollution in north India and curb stubble burning.
The Deputy Chief Minister said stubble burning has started in neighbouring States and smoke has started reaching Delhi. "The Delhi Government has taken several measures to reduce pollution throughout the year but why is that suddenly when stubble burning begins everybody is concerned about pollution and nothing is done throughout the year," he said.
Sisodia said, “This year, due to the Corona crisis, stubble pollution is very deadly. The central government has completely failed to save North India from pollution.”
The AAP leader demanded immediate concrete steps from the Central Government to stop pollution in North India. Furthermore, he said that the Delhi Government is continuously making efforts to stop pollution throughout the year while the Central Government keeps sitting by idle and engages in tokenism when pollution levels increase.
The Deputy Chief Minister pointed out that the smoke of crop burning from neighbouring states has started showing its effect this time also.
“The Government has consistently taken many concrete steps over the years to tackle pollution. We are also continuously seeing success in reducing Delhi’s pollution. Delhi's green zone has had a record increase, and a large number of new trees have been planted. The new tree plantation policy has also been introduced so that the green zones continue to grow. Along with installing smog towers, and implementing e-vehicle policies, the number of buses have also been increased to encourage public transport,” said Sisodia at the conference," he said.
Sisodia said that the Central Government's concern about pollution is seen only in these three months of pollution, while the Delhi government has been continuously working on it for years. Despite the Corona crisis, Delhi's Forest and Environment Minister Gopal Rai continues to work on the streets on multiple measures to prevent pollution, he added.
The minister said that stubble burning is not just a problem of Delhi neither is it a gift of Delhi. "The entire North India is affected and disturbed by the problem of stubble burning, but the Central Government sits by idly. He described the Central Government as a complete failure when it comes to the matter of stopping pollution," he said.
The entire Northern part of India is suffering the adverse consequences of the Central Government’s inaction, he said.
Sisodia emphasized that the Central Government will have to take the responsibility for preventing pollution throughout North India. "Due to the inactivity of the Centre in cases like stubble pollution, smoke from Punjab or Haryana reaches Delhi " he said.
