As Delhi's Air Quality Deteriorates, AAP Asks Centre To Be "Active"

Delhi Minister Gopal Rai called upon Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav to be "active" in addressing the deteriorating air quality in the national capital region, emphasising that entire North India is battling air pollution.

The Delhi Environment Minister said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is blaming Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the air pollution problem in Delhi, but he is not responsible for the poor air quality in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

"Pollution is increasing all around Delhi and surrounding areas, so I request that the Union Environment Minister should be active. BJP has government in UP and Haryana, they should be active," Mr Rai said at a press conference.

Citing a study by the independent think tank Centre for Science and Environment, he said 69 per cent of the air pollution in Delhi comes from neighbouring states.

"While we (Delhi) are taking all possible steps to address the problem, no one knows what the environment ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are doing," he said.

"The effect of the Delhi government's steps is visible. If we talk about pollution throughout the year, in 2015 there were only 109 days when the air quality was good, this year it has been good for more than 200 days," Mr Rai added.

The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi at 8 am today stood at 346, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Levels of the most dangerous PM2.5 particles - so tiny they can enter the bloodstream - were almost 35 times the daily maximum permissible by the World Health Organization, according to monitoring firm IQAir.

The AAP leader cautioned that the next 15 days are critical for the entire Delhi-NCR and that all state governments should remain vigilant and work together to control air pollution.

Mr Rai said the government received feedback that air pollution monitoring teams set up by concerned departments are not working properly on the ground.

"Therefore, we have issued directions to all departments involved to prepare mechanisms to monitor the working of these teams," he said.