As Delhi fought pollution, govt bought 25 air purifiers for PMO

New Delhi, March 20

As pollution choked Delhi in recent years, a total of 140 air purifiers were purchased for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s offices and at least six other government agencies, according to previously unpublished government data. The purchases came as Modi faced criticism for not taking effective steps to improve air quality in Delhi, one of the world’s most polluted cities.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had called the city a “gas chamber” last year as levels of airborne PM 2.5, tiny particulate matter that can reach deep into the lungs, far exceeded levels classified as “hazardous.” A British medical journal, The Lancet, has estimated air pollution was responsible for almost 10 per cent of the total disease burden in India in 2016.

Each year, when pollution levels shoot up in the winter months, the capital’s schools are often forced to shut. Last year, all schools in the city were closed for five days.

A federal body that manages more than 45 government schools in the capital said it had made no purchases of air purifiers and had no plans to do so.

“Offices are generally air conditioned, so air purifiers will function. Our schools aren’t air conditioned, windows are open, so air purifiers won’t make a difference,” said Santosh Kumar Mall, commissioner of the body, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. The home ministry spent about $20,000 in the last three years to buy 44 of the devices, while Modi’s offices accounted for 25 units which cost about $11,000, data showed.

Asked if any steps were taken to safeguard school students from Delhi’s dirty air, Mall said: “I don’t think so, when pollution increased a lot, our schools were shut”.

The Union Government, however, spent 3.6 million rupees, or about $55,000, to buy air purifiers for Modi’s offices and at least six departments between 2014 and 2017, according to government data reviewed by Reuters.

Besides Modi’s offices inside Parliament, the agencies included economic planning think tank NITI Aayog and the ministries of health, agriculture, tourism, home affairs and foreign affairs. The PM office and the six departments for which data was available did not respond to queries. — Reuters