Delhi environment minister Sirsa apologises over poor AQI: ‘Impossible for any elected govt to fix pollution in 9-10 months'

The minister said that it is impossible for any elected government to reduce pollution levels entirely in 9-10 months

As air quality across the national capital continues to deteriorate, Delhi’s environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa apologised to the people, stating that the government is working hard to fix the issue.

Addressing a press briefing on Tuesday, Sirsa said, “I would like to apologise to the people of Delhi and say that it is impossible for any elected government to reduce pollution levels entirely in 9-10 months.”

“We are doing better work than the dishonest Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, and we have reduced AQI each day. This disease of pollution is given to us by the AAP, and we are working to fix it,” he said.

His remarks came against the backdrop of the air quality index (AQI) in Delhi remaining in the "severe" category for three consecutive days before making a slight improvement to "very poor" on Tuesday.

The air quality in the city at 9 am was in the 'very poor' category. Over the past two days, Delhi witnessed worse conditions, with AQI readings crossing 400 at several locations, which falls in the 'severe' category, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

Launching an attack at the previous government, the minister said that the Aam Aadmi Party, after “distorting Delhi,” is now trying to divert attention by staging protests over pollution. He questioned what concrete measures the party had taken to control pollution during its tenure.

Highlighting government initiatives, Sirsa said daily actions are being taken to curb pollution, including reducing the height of garbage mountains by 15 metres and cleaning and reclaiming 45 acres of land. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has also installed more than 2,000 pollution-monitoring plants so far.

Even on Tuesday, out of 40 monitoring stations, 11 recorded 'severe' air quality. Jahangirpuri, Mundka and Wazirpur reported the highest readings at 426, as per the CPCB's Sameer app, which provides hourly data for each monitoring station.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.