No valid PUC, no fuel: Delhi govt’s new rule from Thursday amid rising air pollution

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday announced that vehicle owners without a valid PUC certificate will not be able to get fuel at petrol pumps from Thursday. The announcement, which comes in the wake of deteriorating air quality in Delhi, was made by Sirsa during a press briefing.

The BJP-led Delhi government has been facing intense criticism over the issue of air pollution in Delhi.

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However, Sirsa said that the national capital had handed over this problem by the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. He said that it was not possible for them to reduce the AQI in just 9-10 months.

“It is impossible for any elected government to reduce AQI in 9-10 months. I apologise for the pollution in Delhi. We are doing better work than the dishonest AAP government, and we have reduced AQI each day. This disease of pollution is given to us by the Aam Aadmi Party, and we are working to fix it,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Sirsa had also announced a ban on the open burning of garbage in the national capital. He said that violators will face a fine of up to Rs 5,000.

Asserting that Delhi’s air is everyone’s responsibility, Sirsa appealed to residents of the city to support the government’s efforts towards improving air quality in the national capital.

“Delhi’s air is everyone’s responsibility; only by working together can the government and the public keep it clean. Let us pledge together—no burning garbage, and don’t let anyone else burn it. Protect the future of our children and the breaths of Delhi,” he said.

AAP leaders protest against BJP over air pollution in Delhi

Meanwhile, the opposition Aam Aadmi Party leaders staged a protest against rising pollution in Delhi and the BJP government’s alleged failure to bring it down

AAP’s Delhi unit president Saurabh Bhardwaj, who led the protest outside the Secretariat, accused the BJP government of fraud in AQI monitoring.

“The BJP government in Delhi and Rekha Gupta are fast asleep, and to show lower pollution levels, fraud is being committed. Construction work is ongoing right under the government’s nose,” he said.

The AAP leader said that the Rekha Gupta-led Delhi government is doing everything against science. “To show lower pollution levels, the government has started stealing data and has not implemented GRAP restrictions,” he added.