‘Only 6-point rise in AQI’

Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday claimed that Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) rose by only six points after Diwali, crediting residents for celebrating the festival responsibly.

Addressing a press conference, Sirsa said the post-Diwali AQI had remained better than previous years. “In 2020, the AQI was 462; in 2024 it was 360, and this year it stands at only 351,” he noted.

Sirsa said, “Arvind Kejriwal and his team are trying to politicise a sacred festival. Diwali is not the property of any political party; it is the festival of India’s soul.”

He added, “This is the same party that banned crackers to please one section of voters, and now calls those who celebrate Diwali ‘wrongdoers’. These are the same people who once opposed Lord Shri Ram inside the Assembly.”

He said out of a 28-lakh-tonne target, 27 LMT of waste have already been cleared. He added that real-time monitoring is in place for all construction sites above 500 square metres. Thousands of electric and CNG buses have been added to the fleet. The Pollution Under Control (PUC) certification system has also been fully digitised for greater accountability.