Stubble burning not main reason for pollution: Environmentalist

Environmentalist Vimlendu Jha on Sunday backed farmers' claims and said stubble burning is not the sole and primary reason for pollution in the national capital.

Speaking to ANI, Jha said, "You can't solely blame farmers and stubble burning for the pollution issue in the national capital. Stubble burning peak the air pollution but the main cause is something else. 30-40 per cent of pollution in Delhi city is because of vehicles/ trucks as per the study of Indian Institute of Technology."

He further said that stubble burning creates an atmosphere of smog in the city for a maximum of 20 days.

Commenting on the Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi, Jha said that since the past four to five years, in the month of October, the air quality index has stood somewhere around 600 to 999. He also said that on 65 per cent of the days, the AQI of Delhi is very poor.

Condemning both the central and state governments alike for not taking the necessary steps, he said, "Overall the ambient air quality is suffering and the government hasn't taken any required, possible, or concrete steps in this matter. 170 PUC (Pollution Under Control) centres in Delhi out of the 200 do not work; the government submitted this to the Supreme Court."

Continuing his tirade against the government, Jha said that 20-30 per cent pollution in Delhi is triggered by waste products, dust, Ghazipur landfill site, and Bhalswa landfill. He further accused the government of cutting down around 17,000 trees in the past three-four years.

Earlier in the day, the national capital's air quality plummeted to 'hazardous' with AQI at 235, owing to continuous stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana.