The BJP on Thursday lashed out at Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai and demanded his resignation as the air quality in the city zoomed to hazardous levels.
Rai hit back at the BJP and accused the saffron party led governments in the neighbouring states of doing nothing to prevent air pollution.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva in a statement assailed Rai calling him an "unsuccessful" environment minister and said Delhiiites want him to step down.
"Due to Atishi government's inaction, the pollution situation in Delhi is now worse than in surrounding areas, with the AQI even in clean areas like Rajpath exceeding 450," he claimed.
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Had the Delhi chief minister and her environment minister discussed the crop stubble problem with the AAP ruled Punjab and put a check on it, the pollution levels not only in Delhi but across the north India would be under control, said Sachdeva.
"If excessive smoke from stubble burning in Punjab were not there, Delhi would not suffocate now," he added.
Rai citing a report claimed that Delhi's own sources contributed 30 per cent to the air pollution in the city while nearly 35 per cent contribution came from different NCR districts in BJP ruled Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
He said the Central government must collaborate with the neighbouring states to create a joint action plan. This plan must be strictly enforced, with everyone working together to control their respective share of pollution, he added.
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Rai said 45,172 incidents of stubble burning were reported in Punjab between October 14-November 13, 2022. After the Punjab government started addressing this problem, the number came down to 26,127 in the same period in 2023, he claimed.
In 2024, the number further came down to just 7,492, he said.
However, in Uttar Pradesh, which borders Delhi, there were 1,271 stubble burning incidents in 2022 which increased to 2,167 in 2024, Rai added.
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