Delhi minister accuses AAP of worsening pollution in Punjab and Delhi
Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that the Punjab government is deliberately burning stubble to impact air quality in the national capital.
Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab of worsening pollution levels in both Punjab and Delhi on Tuesday, according to reports by The News Mill and Times Now.
Sirsa alleged that Punjab officials and police are involved in setting crop residue on fire rather than preventing it. He claimed that while more than 1,000 stubble-burning incidents were reported in Punjab, 271 FIRs were registered against unidentified persons.
The minister stated that high pollution in Punjab could drift toward Delhi because of western disturbances. He cited AQI readings from various locations, including Barnala at 1,244, Talwandi Sabo at 1,036, and Bathinda at 1,100.
Sirsa also criticised the appointment of Reena Gupta, an AAP spokesperson and relative of Arvind Kejriwal, as Chairperson of the Punjab Pollution Control Board. He argued that the position, previously held by environmental scientists and IAS officers, was given to a non-technical person.
In response, AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the BJP government of placing monitoring stations in low-traffic areas to artificially lower pollution readings. AAP National In-charge Anurag Dhanda also stated that the sky in Punjab remains clear while Delhi faces pollution clouds.