New Delhi, April 26 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi state convenor Saurabh Bhardwaj on Saturday accused the Rekha Gupta government of Delhi of misleading the people on the issue of pollution.
In a press conference held at the party headquarters, Saurabh Bhardwaj said that the BJP had made big promises to end pollution in Delhi before the elections, but after coming to power those promises have proved to be completely false. He said, “The BJP has deliberately installed air quality monitoring stations in green areas to mislead the people of Delhi. Pollution levels are naturally very low in forests and green areas, and the BJP is using this fact to artificially show low pollution levels to the public.” The AAP leader termed it a “criminal conspiracy” against the people of Delhi. He said that Delhi already has 40 air quality monitoring stations, which were installed in proportion to the population and industrial areas. But the six new places where the BJP government has decided to install monitoring stations are all green areas – such as Central Ridge, JNU campus, Maidangarhi forest behind IGNOU, Commonwealth Games Complex on the banks of Yamuna near Akshardham and NSTU campus.
Sharing the figures, he said that on Friday, AQI was recorded at 373 in Wazirpur industrial area, 334 in Rohini’s residential area, while AQI in the green area of Mandir Marg was 156. The BJP government’s intention is to hide the real level of pollution by installing monitoring stations in green areas.
He feared that in the coming time, the monitoring stations installed in industrial and densely populated areas will be deliberately damaged, so that on the basis of data from green areas only, it can be propagated that pollution in Delhi has reduced significantly.
Saurabh Bhardwaj has asked Chief Minister Rekha Gupta that which officer took the decision to install monitoring stations in the forests? Were the guidelines of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) followed in the selection of these sites? If not, was any disciplinary action taken against the concerned officer?
The AAP leader said that if no action has been taken, then it is clear that the Delhi government is also involved in this conspiracy. He sarcastically said, “If the only aim is to show good figures, then the government should install air quality monitoring stations in the drawing rooms of its ministers. The Delhi government is not a ‘Phulera ki Panchayat’ where decisions are taken arbitrarily. A criminal case should be registered against those who play with the health of the people of Delhi.
