Less pollution this year on Diwali despite cracker-bursting: Delhi CM Gupta

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Wednesday said air pollution in the city on Diwali night was less this year as compared to the previous year.

Her assertion came a day after monitoring stations showed that Delhi's air pollution hit a four-year high on Diwali, with particulate matter 2.5 peaking at 675.

The chief minister said she will meet a Punjab minister on Thursday to inform the state government about Delhi's concerns over crop residue burning, a major cause of pollution in the national capital during winters.

"The pre- and post-Diwali gap (between average AQI) this year is less compared to the previous year, even though firecrackers were allowed this time," Gupta said at a press conference.

She insisted that her government was taking all necessary steps with "greater alertness" to curb pollution.

On Tuesday, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that the Air Quality Index in Delhi was 341 before Diwali and it rose to 356 afterwards, up by just 11 points.

The minister also charged that the farmers in Punjab were being "forced and threatened" to burn parali (paddy straw) on Diwali, insinuating a ploy by the Aam Aadmi Party government in the state to send up pollution levels in the city.