New Delhi: Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai called upon his Union counterpart Bhupender Yadav on Friday to become "active" in addressing the air pollution problem, emphasizing that it's not just the national capital but the entire North India that is breathing polluted air.
At a press conference held here, Rai said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is blaming Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the air pollution problem in Delhi, but he is not responsible for the poor air quality in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Rai appealed to the Union Environment Minister to become "active", saying, "It doesn't seem like there's a Union Environment Ministry in Delhi."
Citing a study by the independent think tank Centre for Science and Environment, he said 69 per cent of the air pollution in Delhi comes from neighbouring states. "While we (Delhi) are taking all possible steps to address the problem, no one knows what the environment ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are doing," he said.
He cautioned that the next 15 days are critical for the entire Delhi-NCR and that all state governments should remain vigilant and work together to control air pollution. Rai said the government received feedback that air pollution monitoring teams set up by concerned departments are not working properly on the ground.
"Therefore, we have issued directions to all departments involved to prepare mechanisms to monitor the working of these teams," he said. Directions have also been issued to ensure strict implementation of directives issued by the Centre's Commission for Air Quality Management to curb air pollution.