Air oollution: Vardhan responds to Kejriwal, says Delhi govt failed to carry out basic measures

After Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal blamed the Centre, and the governments in Haryana and Punjab for deteriorating air quality in the region, Union Environment and Forest Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday hit back saying his dispensation failed to undertake basic measures to curb pollution.

Vardhan said Kejriwal "cannot absolve himself of the responsibility" by targeting the Centre and the state governments.

He said the Centre had undertaken a series of measures like Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for Delhi and the national capital region and setting up of air purifiers.

"This is your responsibility. We have been tracking farm fires with the help of satellites and if compared to previous years, it has been consistently going down. It is wrong to blame Haryana, Punjab and the central government. Your work is being done by the central government," Vardhan retorted.

He said while Kejriwal was blaming others, his government was not even prepared to carry out basic pollution control measures such as stopping construction work that produced dust, sprinkle water on roads, undertake mechanised cleaning of roads and take action against illegal burning of garbage.

Earlier Monday, Kejriwal had launched an attack on the issue saying, "The pollution was in control in Delhi throughout the year, but this time (winters) every year, Delhi has to face severe pollution condition due to the Centre, BJP-led Haryana and Congress-led Punjab governments.

"Despite our all-out efforts, they are not ready to do anything. Farmers of these two states are also fed up with their governments," Kejriwal tweeted.