Delhi BJP says AAP govt left fund for pollution control unused, demands white paper

The BJP accused the AAP government in Delhi on Saturday of failing to utilise the special fund received from the central government for pollution control, and demanded a white paper on it.

This failure is a testament to the "criminal negligence" of the Kejriwal government, leaders of the opposition party in Delhi said at a press conference.

Responding to the allegations, AAP said the Delhi government has been consistently working on reducing pollution and even the BJP's central government acknowledged in Parliament that a 31 per cent reduction in pollution has been noted in the national capital.

"However, the central government has stopped Delhi's share from the Centre's pool of taxes. When we demanded the rightful share for Delhiites, who pay Rs 2.07 lakh crores in taxes, the BJP responded with unfounded allegations, once again demonstrating its step-motherly treatment," it said in a statement.

At the Delhi BJP press conference, party leaders demanded that the city government should present a white paper detailing the work done on pollution control in the past nine-and-a-half years.

"This is not just an allegation by the BJP, but a report by the WHO that Delhi is one of the most polluted cities in the world," South Delhi MP Ramveer Singh Bidhuri said.

New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj said the central government allocated Rs 742.69 crore to the Delhi government under the National Clean Air Programme but the Kejriwal government has only spent 29.5 per cent of it.

She also sought a reply from the government on why 70 per cent of the fund lay unused.

The Kejriwal-led party hit back, asking why the central government was withholding Delhi's share of funds.

"We are continuously working for the betterment of Delhiites, while Delhi's LG has caused significant harm by cutting down trees in the city's eco-sensitive zones. The BJP remains silent on this grave environmental issue," it said.

"To seize control of the MCD through backdoor means after losing the elections, the BJP's central government appointed aldermen in an unconstitutional manner. As a result, the standing committee could not be constituted, preventing any projects worth more than Rs 5 crores from being executed," it said.

Bidhuri also said that the top court has acknowledged that the two biggest causes of pollution in Delhi are the "completely chaotic" transportation system and dust on the roads.

He claimed that the lone smog tower in Delhi was not operational and even its maintenance has not been done.

Swaraj charged that in a few months, Delhi will turn into a gas chamber but instead of preparing for this, AAP ministers are busy holding press conferences.

Senior BJP leader Arvinder Singh Lovely said that the AQI level in Delhi is usually the best in July and August due to the monsoon season, but "today the AQI level is 164, which raises concerns about what it would be like in December".

He claimed that the Kejriwal government's failure to create a winter plan on time led to a "pollution lockdown situation" in Delhi after Diwali.

The Kejriwal government once again seems unprepared to take any concrete steps regarding pollution, Lovely said.

The Aam Aadmi Party responded in its statement, saying the government has formulated the Winter Action Plan and the Summer Action Plan to mitigate pollution during specific seasons.

"In terms of long-term measures, we have converted CNG-run industries to PNG, and inducted electric buses into the DTC fleet, making Delhi the state with the most electric buses in the country and the third-largest city globally in this regard," it added.

In a statement, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva alleged that the Kejriwal government has left no stone unturned to make Delhi a polluted capital city.

The people of Delhi are stunned to learn that the Kejriwal government has not spent even one-third of the fund given by the central government to reduce pollution in the last six years, he said.

"Kejriwal's government is a curse for Delhi and this is why, people are forced to suffocate in polluted air," Sachdeva claimed.

Delhi BJP secretary Harish Khurana posted on 'X' that Delhi's PM2.5 levels remain 2.5 times above the standard and PM10 remains 3.5 times above the standard throughout the year.

The standard for PM2.5 is 40 but Delhi's average is 106 and the standard for PM10 is 60 but the city's average for the year is 219, he said.