Centre spars with Delhi govt over bad air
The Centre and the Delhi government were embroiled in a war of words on Monday over the issue of air pollution in the national capital.
While Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar lashed out at the AAP government for promoting itself instead of tackling pollution, the latter challenged him to prove if it had taken a single penny out of the budget for its advertisement.
Delhi-NCR was engulfed in a thick blanket of smog since the festival of Diwali on October 27. At an event here, Javadekar hit out at the Arvind Kejriwal government asking whether it was following the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) directives aimed at combating the severe air pollution in the national capital.
The AAP, in response, requested the central government to go above partisan politics and work for the betterment of India by taking steps to combat air pollution.
Speaking to the media after the event, Javadekar said his ministry has already held several meetings with the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan over pollution caused due to stubble burning.
“Pollution is a genuine problem. When I became the environment minister, I called a meeting of all five states regarding the issue. Seven to eight such meetings have already been held. Another one will happen soon.
“The Delhi government must check out the directions given by CPCB regarding pollution and should tell how much has it followed,” the minister said.