Central Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav attacks Kejriwal for turning the capital into a 'gas chamber', accuses AAP of 'scam'
New Delhi, November 2
In a scathing attack against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Wednesday blamed him and his party for turning the capital into a “gas chamber”.
Accusing AAP of “scam,” Yadav said “Punjab, a state run by the AAP government, has seen an over 19 per cent rise in farm fires over 2021. Haryana has seen a 30.6 per cent drop. Just today, Punjab saw 3,634 fires. There is no doubt over who has turned Delhi into a gas chamber”.
“Scam is where AAP is. In the past five years, the Central Government gave Rs 1,347 crore for crop residue management machines to Punjab. The state bought 1,20,000 machines. 11,275 of those machines have gone missing. Money utilisation shows clear incompetence,” he said in a series of tweets as smoke from farm fires contributed up to 32 per cent of the tiny PM 2.5 lung-damaging pollutants in the city’s air.
“Last year, Rs 212 crore were left unspent. This year, the Central Govt gave Punjab Rs 280 crore for crop residue management machines. So about Rs 492 crore was available but the state government chose to sit with the funds forcing helpless farmers to burn the crop residue,” he said.
“The Chief Minister of Punjab has failed to even provide relief to farmers in his own turf of Sangrur. Last year (Sept 15-Nov 2) farm fires in Sangrur stood at 1,266. This year they have shot up by 139 per cent rising to 3,025,” Yadav said, targeting Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
The minister’s charges followed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s questions to PM Modi over the issue.
Aiming to corner the BJP-led centre over shocking levels of air pollution in the capital, Kejriwal called “pollution a problem of entire North India.”
“UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh. The Air Quality Index (AQI) is almost equal everywhere. Did Delhi-Punjab spread pollution all over the country? Why is the PM not calling a meeting of all states on this?” he said.
“The centre is not helping the farmers, only filing FIRs against them. They rejected our proposal on tackling stubble burning. There is only politics going on about this, no one is talking about the solution,” Kejriwal said
The Commission for Air Quality Management had last week said the increased incidents of stubble burning in Punjab this year “is a matter of serious concern”.
Along with unfavourable meteorological conditions, paddy straw burning in adjoining states is a major reason behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in the national capital in October and November.
