Gopal Rai urges union environment minister to address pollution problem

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai called upon his Union counterpart on Friday to become more active in addressing the air pollution problem, saying it's not just the national capital, but the entire north India that is breathing polluted air.

Rai pointed out that the air pollution issue is not confined to Delhi alone, and the situation is the same across north India.

He said, "The Bharatiya Janata Party is blaming Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the air pollution problem in Delhi, but he is not responsible for the poor air quality in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana."

At a press conference held here, he appealed to the Union environment minister to become more proactive, saying, "It doesn't seem like there's a Union Environment Ministry in Delhi."

Rai said while he was taking all possible steps to address the problem, "No one knows what the environment ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are doing".

Delhi's air quality plummeted to the "severe plus" category on Friday morning, a stage at which all emergency measures, including a ban on polluting trucks, commercial four-wheelers, and all types of construction, are mandated to be initiated and enforced in the National Capital Region.

The city's AQI rose from 351 at 10 am on Thursday to 471 at 9 am on Friday.