The manifesto also included measures such as installation of air purifiers at key intersections, incentivising a shift of 50 per cent of vehicles to electric or CNG, and developing green belts to improve tree cover.
File Photo: IANS
Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Devender Yadav on Monday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government questioning CM Rekha Gupta on failure to deliver on its ambitious promises to curb air pollution, eight months after taking office.
Yadav, citing BJP’s manifesto for the Delhi Assembly elections in which the party pledged to “reduce PM2.5 and PM10 levels by half” and launch the “Delhi Clean Air Mission” aimed at halving the city’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) and reducing the number of days with poor air quality, said, “The BJP promised to deploy road-sweeping machines in every assembly constituency and water-sprinklers in every Municipal Corporation ward, along with additional machinery in highly polluted areas like Anand Vihar, Mundka, and RK Puram,” Yadav said.
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The manifesto also included measures such as installation of air purifiers at key intersections, incentivising a shift of 50 per cent of vehicles to electric or CNG, and developing green belts to improve tree cover.
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Highlighting the persistent crisis, Yadav noted that AQI levels in Delhi had crossed 400 in more than 13 locations, including Anand Vihar, Wazirpur, and Mundka. “Despite these grand promises, the air quality continued to deteriorate, reaching poor, very poor, and even severe levels, especially after Diwali,” he pointed out.
Yadav also criticised the BJP government for failure to clean the Yamuna River, describing it “as highly toxic as ever”, despite prior commitments.
The Congress leader demanded that CM Gupta should take immediate concrete steps to address Delhi’s worsening air pollution. “Words and promises are not enough. The people of Delhi expect action, not rhetoric,” he stated.
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