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'Kejriwal's corruption left Delhiites breathing polluted air for 10 years,' claims Delhi minister
Sirsa blamed Kejriwal’s government for worsening air quality, saying, "Pollution stems from Kejriwal’s corruption and the upkeep of his Sheeshmahal."
Delhi minister and BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday accused AAP convenor and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of widespread corruption, claiming it forced Delhi residents to endure polluted air for a decade and alleged that Kejriwal’s mismanagement worsened the city’s air quality. This statement came after a CAG report titled ‘Prevention of Air Pollution from Vehicles’ was presented in the Delhi Assembly earlier in the day.
“Due to Kejriwal's incompetence, Delhiites have had to live in polluted air for the last 10 years. The smog tower worth ₹22 crores got rusted in just one year and is now lying closed. AAP wasted ₹53 crores just in the name of odd-even but did nothing,” Sirsa said in the assembly.
He questioned why the report had been delayed until now and suggested the opposition’s absence from the House stemmed from their discomfort with its findings. “Why was this report not tabled till now? It has become clear why the opposition has run away from the House. The opposition is not in the House because the opposition gets a call from Mr. Kejriwal. Mr. Kejriwal has gone into depression and has gone to Punjab, so he is not able to come out of the shock. He has gone to Punjab to come out of the shock,” he said.
Sirsa further held the Kejriwal-led government accountable for the declining air quality, asserting, "Pollution is coming from Kejriwal's loot; pollution was coming from the treatment of Kejriwal's Sheesh Mahal."
He also slammed AAP’s reaction to the CAG report, saying, “They say that the CAG report is not understood by them. They understand scams, but this report is not read by them. Then they say, present all 14 reports together. If one report is not read by them, how will they read 14?”
Sirsa claimed that AAP’s mismanagement led to the ruin of DTC buses through corrupt practices, pushing millions to rely on two-wheelers instead. He highlighted that despite spending ₹53 crore on the odd-even scheme, the DTC bus fleet dwindled significantly. “In 2011, till 2015, DTC had 89 buses on the roads, but gradually, only 14-15% of buses were running, and the rest were damaged and left idle. Scams were committed one after another, and I often feel sorry that this person will spend his entire life in jail or will he ever come out?” he said.
Additionally, Sirsa pointed to irregularities in pollution checks, alleging that of the 22.14 lakh inspections conducted, 1.08 lakh vehicles surpassing pollution limits still received PUC certificates after alleged bribes, further aggravating Delhi’s pollution crisis.
What did the CAG report say?
According to a CAG report tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday, the city's worsening air pollution has been worsened by failures in pollution control measures, including irregularities in issuing PUC certificates, unreliable air quality monitoring systems, and weak enforcement of pollution control regulations.
The report, titled 'Vehicular Air Pollution in Delhi,' was presented by chief minister Rekha Gupta and pointed to significant policy gaps, poor enforcement, and lack of coordination among agencies as the main causes behind the deteriorating pollution levels in the capital.
The report revealed that over 1.08 lakh vehicles were issued Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates despite emitting carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) beyond the permissible limits. In many instances, multiple vehicles received certificates within minutes of each other.
Between 2015 and 2020, nearly 4,000 diesel vehicles that exceeded pollution limits were still certified as compliant, allowing them to continue operating on the road despite their high emissions.
Out of the 14 CAG reports on the performance of the previous AAP government, eight, including reports on excise and health, have been tabled in the Assembly by the BJP government, which took office following a landslide victory in the February 5 Assembly elections, ending over 26 years of AAP rule.
(With ANI, PTI inputs)
