NewDelhi: Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar once again slammed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for politicising the issue of air pollution in Delhi and indulging in a blame game instead of finding a solution to curb the menace.
Speaking to the press at an event in New Delhi on Saturday, Javadekar said, “I think it’s unfortunate that a CM instead of finding solutions to mitigate pollution is into blame game. Instead of spending Rs 1500 crore on ads, if Delhi government gives it to farmers of Punjab and Haryana, it will be more beneficial,” agency reported.
Kejriwal on Friday called Delhi a gas chamber due to high crop burning incidents in the neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab. Holding Manohar Lal Khattar and Amarinder Singh governments responsible for rising air pollution in Delhi, Kejriwal asked them to submit specific timelines by when they will put stop on stubble burning.
“Delhi has turned into a gas chamber due to smoke from crop burning in neighbouring states. It is very important that we protect ourselves from this toxic air,” he said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, Javadekar at the event also said that the air pollution aggravated in the last 15 years and a solution to this is being remedied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
“We have started inter-state meetings of NCR ministers and officials. All stakeholders need to act together and not blame each other,” he said.
“Solution to air pollution is not ‘switch on’ and ‘switch off’ mode. It is the sustained efforts which will bring down the pollution. All the state agencies and people need to participate in this effort to combat it,” the Union Minister added.
A thick haze has shrouded over Delhi-NCR post-Diwali and air quality has been constantly deteriorating.
On Saturday, the Air Quality Index in the national capital hit 480 on a scale of 500, the worst till now. In Haryana’s Hisar, the AQI plunged to 804 while in Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Faridabad and Noida, the AQI was recorded at 585, 496, 496, 479 and 578, respectively.
Schools in Delhi have been shut till November 5 due to the rise in air pollution. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government also staggered working hours of 21 of its departments during the implementation of the 12-day odd-even scheme, beginning November 4.
Bureau Report
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