AAP responsible for Delhi pollution: Congress
Pointing at the extension of metro, he said that while the government takes credit for increasing the metro network to nearly 400km, only 64km of the network has been sanctioned so far.
Former member of parliament (MP) and New Delhi candidate from Congress Sandeep Dikshit on Saturday said that the Delhi government is directly responsible for the rising level of air and water pollution in the national capital.
Dikshit was at a press conference at the Delhi Congress office on Saturday when he presented data on public transport, sewage treatment plants, water treatment plants, and the pollution in Yamuna. He said that the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) mismanagement in these areas has led to the air and water pollution in Delhi.
“The issue of pollution really hit me when during our door-to-door outreach, common people, including those from lower socio-economic backgrounds started pointing out how their health was being impacted due to polluted air and water. After we got details, we realised that this is one issue that they (AAP government) cannot blame anyone else for. It is a direct result of their mismanagement and dishonesty because they have done absolutely nothing to address pollution, according to their own data,” Dikshit said, while claiming that there were 5,500 Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses in 2013, which have reduced to around 3,500 now. He said the number should have increased if the government was focusing on encouraging public transport.
“In 2013, 43 lakh people used to commute in DTC buses, but today bus ridership is only 41 lakh. The numbers should have gone up to around 60-65 lakh given the increase in population. If these surplus 20-25 lakh people are opting for private transport options, it is clearly adding to Delhi’s vehicular pollution,” he said.
Pointing at the extension of metro, he said that while the government takes credit for increasing the metro network to nearly 400km, only 64km of the network has been sanctioned so far.
The Congress leader further quoted the State of Forest report released by the Government of India and said that the green cover in Delhi was 26sqkm in 1998-99 that increased to around 299sqkm in 2013, which was nearly the same according to the 2023 report 10 years later.
He further questioned what the Kejriwal government did to increase the capacity of CNG-based power plants as no new plant has been constructed since 2014 for improving electricity supply.
“During the Sheila Dikshit government, coal based plants started shutting and we switched to CNG based plants creating a capacity of nearly 1,000MW from three plants. Since 2014, not a single new plant has been added,” he claimed.
He also pointed to AAP’s claims of having increased Delhi’s sewage treatment capacity by 50%. Dikshit announced that Delhi’s capacity was 360 million gallons per day (MGD) in 1998, 613 MGD in 2013, and 632 MGD now. He added that the WTP capacity also increased from 920 MGD in 2013 to just 940 MGD now.
He also said that as per the Delhi Jal Board’s report, water pollution in Delhi has doubled in the last eight years, while the DJB’s accumulated losses have increased from ₹18,000 crore in 2013 to ₹76,000 crore now.
“The government had planned seven interceptor STPs on Najafgarh drain to reduce water pollution. Why has none of these been completed yet? Water is distributed free but neither water nor the STP’s capacity has been enhanced in Delhi. These populist schemes of AAP got votes, but also forced Delhi residents to drink polluted water,” Dikshit maintained.
The AAP did not respond to HT’s request for a comment on the allegation.