Kiran Bedi urges PM to intervene as Delhi’s air quality worsens

Ex-IPS officer and former Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi made an emotional appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to step in directly to address Delhi’s worsening air quality.

In a detailed post on X on Friday, Bedi requested the Prime Minister to hold regular virtual meetings with the chief ministers of neighbouring states to ensure coordinated action on pollution control.

Bedi said she had witnessed the effectiveness of Modi’s virtual review meetings during her tenure in Puducherry and believed similar monthly sessions with five neighbouring chief ministers and their chief secretaries could prevent further deterioration of the Capital’s air quality.

“Sir please forgive me for pleading again…Your Zoom meet with these five neighbouring CMs, along with chief secretaries, with fixed schedule even just once a month to take stock of the progress will prevent the situation from worsening,” she wrote, adding that such oversight would give citizens a sense of relief.

She also urged the Prime Minister to use his “Mann Ki Baat” platform to appeal to people across age groups to understand their role in mitigating pollution, recalling how one such public appeal had earlier encouraged citizens to surrender their LPG subsidy.

Commenting on the broader crisis, Bedi said India’s air pollution emergency was the result of “decades without true coordination in governance”, with responsibilities split across departments but accountability rising at every level. She stressed the need for a full reset toward collaborative administration, calling for departments and states to work together rather than shift blame.

“The wind belongs to no one. The sky does not recognise checkpoints. And polluted air drifts everywhere — affecting all except those sheltered behind the sealed comfort of purified offices,” she wrote. Bedi said the weakest sections of society were suffering the most, with every home a dispensary of sorts.

Calling for a culture of on-ground accountability, Bedi argued that effective governance required leaders and coordinators to spend time outdoors, assessing conditions firsthand instead of working from sanitised enclosures. She said daily field exposure would foster urgency and drive quicker action.

“Governance cannot be remote-controlled. It must stand in the dust, breathe the same air and act with urgency,” she noted.

Bedi emphasised the importance of area town halls, real-time field corrections and visible leadership, saying these were essential for long-term, sustainable improvements in air quality.