Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Delhi’s Minister for Environment, Forest, and Wildlife, on Sunday highlighted the efforts being undertaken by the BJP government to curb air pollution in the national capital.
In a post on the social media platform X, Minister Sirsa wrote, “Following the Viksit Delhi Sankalp of PM Narendra Modi Ji… we are working to bring life back into Delhi. Watch our on-ground dust mitigation efforts… because clean air isn’t a luxury—it’s a right.”
A few days earlier, a CAG report recommended that the Delhi Government should immediately address the shortage of 2,250 public transport buses and complement them with last-mile connectivity options to arrest the deteriorating air quality in the national capital due to vehicular emissions.
The report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, tabled by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta in the Assembly, emphasized that the government should prioritize route rationalisation to use the existing fleet optimally.
It also suggested that the skills of existing repair and maintenance staff be aligned with the operational buses through training and effective deployment for proper upkeep and maintenance.
The CAG report noted that due to the shortage of public transport buses, 238 out of 657 notified bus routes were completely unserved.
The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses had entirely stopped providing NCR connectivity. Furthermore, the number of Gramin Sewa Vehicles for last-mile connectivity has remained unchanged since May 2011, the report said.
Expressing concern over inadequate checking of polluting vehicles at Delhi’s borders, the CAG stated there were 128 entry points for vehicles into the Union Territory. “Out of these, 80 percent of commercial vehicles enter Delhi from just 13 entry points,” it said.
However, the audit observed that enforcement teams were deployed at only seven of these entry points. “Besides the shortage of staff, the enforcement teams did not have vehicle-mounted PUC equipment to check visibly polluting vehicles,” the report added.
Earlier, Manjinder Singh Sirsa accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of intentionally worsening Delhi’s air pollution to harm the image of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He claimed that since the BJP assumed power in Delhi, significant progress has been made in reducing pollution levels.
In a video message posted on X, Sirsa remarked, “Since the BJP took charge in Delhi, we have been consistently working to reduce pollution, and we have been successful. Air quality is improving every year, with many days being cleaner. We have broken records over the last three years, something that is clearly not sitting well with the Aam Aadmi Party.”
He further accused AAP of resorting to extreme tactics to disrupt the city’s air quality.
“It saddens me to say this, but the AAP has sunk so low that they are now gathering trash inside parks and setting it on fire. I have shared a video of this incident. This is being done with the sole intention of making the air polluted and defaming the BJP,” Sirsa added.
(Inputs from IANS)
