With the city’s toxic air showing no signs of improvement for the seventh straight days, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Sunday blamed Haryana and Uttar Pradesh Governments saying the impact of stubble burning in Punjab is not as significant for the national Capital as the smoke emanating from farm fires from these two States.
According to Rai, as per the Central government’s data, “Central Government figures show that less stubble has been burned in Punjab this year in comparison to last year. Punjab’s stubble smoke does not have as much impact on Delhi as that of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. This is because there is no movement in the wind. Only if the wind blows, the smoke of Punjab will reach Delhi. Right now, there is smoke all around Delhi. The smoke of stubble from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh is reaching Delhi”.
However, since there is an AAP government in Punjab, Rai almost given a clean chit to the stubble-burning incidents in Punjab, claiming that the number of stubble-burning incidents in Punjab has halved in a year. He also cited the low wind speed to assert that the smoke from Pujnab does not reach Delhi.
AAP has been saying that stubble burning has come down heavily in Punjab, but the latest mapping of fires across the world by US space agency NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) shows the overwhelming majority of fires in North India are concentrated in Punjab.
The rest of the states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh only have isolated incidents of fire. Earlier Rai on Saturday wrote to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, asking him to convene an emergency meeting with the NCR States to address the issue. Rai urged the Centre to permit only CNG, electric, and BS VI-compliant vehicles in Delhi-NCR to combat vehicular pollution.
Blaming Uttar Pradesh for the pollution in Delhi, Rai had said, “Delhi government has been trying its best to curb the air pollution. Anand Vihar has the highest AQI.
I came here and found out that all buses are BS3 and BS4 coming from Uttar Pradesh.
I appeal to Yogiji to not send these vehicles to Delhi. Electric buses and CNG vehicles ply in Delhi. Bus depot manager and traffic staff have also been careless to allow these banned vehicles inside Delhi.”