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Delhi Home Minister Ashish Sood on Friday slammed former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the city's pollution crisis, alleging in a press conference that the Aam Aadmi Party has treated Delhi's pollution as a PR activity to consolidate its political foothold.

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Reacting to the claims of Kejriwal introducing scientific methods to combat pollution in the city, Sood said that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had previously reprimanded him for the odd-even scheme and questioned what scientific measures Kejriwal has actually implemented to tackle the pollution problem. He further emphasised that he does not wish to politicise the issue of pollution.

AAP's Pollution Fight a 'PR Activity'

"Some unemployed leaders were recently saying that Arvind Kejriwal had introduced a very scientific method. What did he introduce? Odd-even... The National Green Tribunal (NGT) reprimanded him for the odd-even scheme. The NGT said, 'You had 100 suggestions, but you always choose Odd-Even'. Then he introduced another revolutionary step: switching the engine off and on at red lights... Delhi pollution has always been a PR activity for them to secure their political ground. We don't want to politicise the air our children breathe," said Sood.

The Delhi Home Minister further alleged that the AAP government has been creating obstacles for the central government's efforts to improve the city's public transport system. "If they had the right intention, they should have fixed Delhi's transport and waste management... If these 'scientists' believe that Delhi pollution is caused by dust, they should have introduced sweeping machines in Delhi... They did not do any work on the last-mile connectivity... Instead, they created obstacles in the central government's work to improve Delhi's public transport system, including the RRTS and the phases of the DMRC metro... They did not have money to fix the public transport system, but had money for advertisements. This is not my accusation, but the Supreme Court's statement..." added Sood.

Concerns Over AQI Data Accuracy

Addressing the pollution issue in Delhi, Minister Ashish Sood emphasised that a large share of Delhi's pollution comes from surrounding states. He further stated that the Delhi government has installed AQI metres in Delhi's green belts. Sood mentioned that in 2017-18, 20 stations were added to the Green 20 list. The Delhi minister further stated that the locations of the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) did not meet CPCB requirements and raised concerns about alleged potential inaccuracies in the data. "Delhi Pollution is not a seasonal issue, or an issue that has taken root in the National Capital in the last 10 months... A large part of Delhi's pollution comes from the surrounding states. We don't have any control over the weather... But for the past few days, some unemployed politicians, who sometimes become experts on EVMs, sometimes on coal, sometimes on electricity, and sometimes on nuclear power, are criticising the government... For some time, these unemployed politicians have been saying that the Delhi government has installed AQI metres in Delhi's green belts. " said Sood .

"In 2017-18, 20 stations were added to the Green 20 list. These included areas like Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Asola Wildlife Sanctuary, rural areas of Alipur, a college campus in Nehru Nagar, and the rural belt of Najafgarh. Out of these 20 stations, 30% were installed in green belts, because they did not want to clear the air; they wanted to clear the statistics. The CAG report says the location of CAAQMS (Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System) did not fulfil the requirement laid down by CPCB, indicating possible inaccuracies in the data generated by them, rendering the AQI values unreliable..." added Sood.

Government's Long-Term Plan to Tackle Pollution

During the press conference, the minister also stated that the Delhi Municipal Corporation is currently receiving Rs. 175 crore from the Chief Minister Rekha Gupta government. Additonally, the government will also provide additional Rs. 500 crore to the municipal corporation. The PWD will supply mechanical sweeping machines to the municipal corporation, using funds from the pollution cess. "The municipal corporation, which wasn't receiving funds, has now received Rs. 175 crore from Rekha Gupta. Administrative action is underway to provide Rs. 500 crore to the municipal corporation......The PWD will provide mechanical sweeping machines to the municipal corporation using funds from the pollution cess......There should be one mechanical sweeping machine in every assembly constituency," said Sood.

The minister also said that the central government ministers will clear the Bhalswa landfill site by September 2026. Minister Ashish Sood mentioned that the government has inaugurated a waste-to-gas plant in Ghoga. Additionally, 10,000 air purifiers are set to be installed in classrooms, with the minister emphasising that all these initiatives are part of long-term schemes. "Our urban development department has made many corrections. A waste-to-gas plant has been inaugurated in Ghoga... 10,000 air purifiers are about to be installed in classrooms. We have floated the tender today. Such revolutionary works have been undertaken by every department... All these are long-term schemes... It will take time. I want to assure the people of Delhi, the youth of Delhi, that our government is pursuing long-term administrative reforms to improve Delhi's air rather than PR activities... It would be better if those who criticise also mention their own accomplishments," said Sood. (ANI)