Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, speaking a day after Diwali, highlighted the impact of firecrackers on the national Capital’s air quality over the years. In 2020, PM2.5 levels rose from 414 before Diwali to 435 after the festival, an increase of 21 points.
In 2021, the post-Diwali rise was 80 points. In 2024, when conventional firecrackers were banned, PM2.5 increased from 328 to 360, a 32-point rise, Sirsa told a press briefing on Tuesday. In a press conference on Tuesday, Sirsa showed videos of alleged farmers burning stubble in regions like Tarn Taran and Bathinda.
This year, after receiving permission for green firecrackers following a Supreme Court order and a Delhi Government request, the Central Pollution Control Board’s Sameer App recorded a smaller rise: PM2.5 went from 345 before Diwali to 356 after, an increase of just 11 points, the minister pointed out.
He said, “In 2020, the firecrackers in Diwali were going on. At that time, PM 2.5 was 414 before Diwali and 435 after Diwali. There was an increase of 21 points in the firecrackers. In 2021, there was an increase of 80 points.”
He added, “In 2024, when the firecrackers were banned, the AQI was 328 before Diwali and 360 after Diwali. 32 points increased when the firecrackers were banned. On the order of the Supreme Court and on the request of the Delhi Government, we got permission for green firecrackers… Before Diwali, the AQI was 345, and after Diwali, the AQI was 356, according to the CPCB’s Sameer App… Only 11 points increased when the firecrackers were allowed. Will you hold Diwali responsible for this? Will you hold the faith of all the Sanatanas and Hindus in Delhi accountable? What is the fault in this?”
In a no holds barred attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Sirsa Sirsa has alleged that AAP’s sole aim is to defame Diwali. Sirsa accused that the farmers in Punjab are being forced to burn stubble in the fields by the AAP government. “The highest number of parali burning incidents occurred in AAP-ruled Punjab on Diwali night,” he said.
He claimed that while AAP leaders “condemned the Delhi CM, the BJP and Sanatan Dharm followers over celebration of Diwali and bursting of crackers,” the real reason behind worsening air quality was stubble burning in Punjab.
Sirsa said, “Their aim is to defame Diwali. Who are the religious people who are forcing them to make this statement? Why would any common man speak against any religion?”
Sirsa questioned how AAP could expect the BJP to solve the smog problem in a matter of months when it could not do so in a decade of its rule.