AAP blames Haryana for Delhi’s pollution crisis; says ‘Punjab 500 km away’

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday sought to blame Haryana for the pollution crisis in Delhi-NCR, citing the state’s proximity to the national capital.

AAP national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar called for an analysis of the anti-pollution measures taken by the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government since 2014.

“The stubble burning in Punjab is about 500 km away from here and the stubble burning in Haryana is 100 km away. An analysis should be done on anti-pollution measures taken by the Khattar government in Haryana since 2014,” Kakkar said at a press conference here.

The AAP spokesperson also said that the air pollution in Delhi witnessed a 31 per cent decline.

“In the Economic Survey 2022-23, the central government acknowledged that the air quality in Delhi has been the best in the last eight years. CAQM data also shows that there has been a 50-67 per cent reduction in stubbing burning in Punjab.”

The overall air quality in the national capital continued to be in the ‘severe’ category on Monday as a high-level meeting was called by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal at the Delhi Secretariat at 12 pm. The Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi has forecast that Delhi’s AQI will stay ‘severe’ at least for the next couple of days.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Sunday invoked stage IV of the graded action response plan (GRAP), paving the way for additional anti-pollution curbs.

According to the 8-point action plan, there will be a ban on entry of truck traffic into Delhi (except for trucks carrying essential commodities/ providing essential services and all LNG/ CNG/ electric trucks). Also, a ban will be imposed on the plying of Delhi-registered diesel-operated Medium Goods Vehicles (MGVs) and Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) in Delhi, except those carrying essential commodities/ providing essential services.