Positive signs, but long way to go: Delhi CM on pollution fight after Diwali

“Delhi residents are working hard in the field of pollution. The results have been very encouraging but there is still a long way to go. We will make Delhi the best city in the world,” Kejriwal tweeted

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that efforts by Delhi residents to curb air pollution have shown encouraging results, as the national capital reported the best post-Diwali air quality since 2015 when the country started recording the air quality index.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. (PTI)

“Delhi residents are working hard in the field of pollution. The results have been very encouraging but there is still a long way to go. We will make Delhi the best city in the world,” Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board data, Delhi recorded an average air quality index value of 303 on Tuesday compared to 312 (both in very poor zone) on Diwali (Monday). This is for the first time that Delhi has recorded a better AQI a day after Diwali. Last year, the Capital recorded the worst AQI on post-Diwali day at 462 (severe)

Despite a total ban on use of use of firecrackers, rampant violations were reported from across the city even though the police did not register as many cases.

On Diwali, Kejriwal tweeted that Delhi does not figure in the most polluted cities of Asia while citing a news report. “Some years back, Del [Delhi] was the most polluted city in the world. Not anymore! People of Delhi worked very hard. Today, we have improved a lot. Whereas we have improved, it’s still a long way. We will continue working hard so that we find a place in the best cities of the world,” he tweeted on Monday.

In another tweet, the Delhi chief minister said, “After my tweets today, some people asking -hv [have] we won war against pollution n am I satisfied? Not at all. It is encouraging that we r no more world’s most polluting city. It encourages us that we r on right track. However, we hv [have] to become world’s cleanest city. That’s our goal.”

Eight Indian cities featured in the list of 10 most polluted cities in Asia released by World Air Quality Index. Gurugram in Haryana topped the list with an AQI of 679, followed by Dharuhera with an AQI of 543 and Muzaffarpur in Bihar with an AQI of 316.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress hit out at Kejriwal’s “silence” over the issue of stubble burning in Punjab.

BJP’s West Delhi MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma tweeted on Tuesday, “Yesterday, more than 1000 cases of stubble burning were reported in Punjab. But Arvind Kejriwal, who banned firecrackers in Delhi, is not stopping stubble burning in Punjab. The reason for pollution in Delhi is not firecrackers, but the AAP government which only does drama about curbing pollution, but doesn’t provide any solution.”

Questioning Kejriwal’s “silence” on the issue of stubble burning in Punjab, Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhury said, “Before AAP came to power in Punjab, Kejriwal used to blame stubble burning by Punjab farmers as the primary reason for Delhi’s worsening air pollution. But now he does not talk much about stubble burning. Why hasn’t Kejriwal asked Punjab farmers to use the decomposer instead of burning paddy stubble in the state?”