Delhi govt slams Centre for 'not responding to letters' over air pollution situation

Delhi Minister Gopal Rai said that the citizens should appeal to the environment ministry through social media to take necessary action on the issue.

File Photo (PTI)

New Delhi: The Delhi government on Saturday (November 13, 2021) hit out at the Centre for 'not responding to letters' over the air pollution situation. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai alleged that Union Minister Bhupender Yadav is 'not responding to his letters written twice' over the emergency situation of air pollution in the national capital.

He also said that the citizens should appeal to the environment ministry through social media to take necessary action on the issue.

"I wrote a letter to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav twice over the issue of stubble burning but did not get any response yet. I don`t know why the Centre is not responding as this is an emergency situation," Rai told ANI.

"I think Delhi people should also appeal to the Union Minister through social media to take necessary action over this emergency situation of air pollution in Delhi. The Centre should not run away from its responsibilities, it should not stay silent," he added.

The AAP minister further said that the Delhi government is taking every possible step to control the air pollution like the anti-dust campaign, anti-open burning campaign and Red Light On, Gaadi Off campaign.

"Under Anti-dust campaign, we have taken actions at 450 sites. We are also spraying bio decomposer to control the stubble burning in Delhi. The Delhi govt ran an anti-dust campaign & inspected 2,500 sites. We`ve begun the `Red Light On, Gaadi Off` campaign for vehicle pollution; 550 people deployed to restrict bio-mass burning. Bio-decomposer is given to stop stubble burning," he informed.

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— Gopal Rai (@AapKaGopalRai) November 12, 2021

The minister also said that people should reduce the use of private vehicles and increase using public transport. 

He stated that the Arvind Kejriwal-led government is also asking the Delhi Metro Rail Transportation (DMRC) and Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) to increase the frequency of metro and buses so that more people can use them. 

"I have also called for a meeting with DMRC and DTC on Monday to discuss the issue. I will again direct them to increase the frequency of metro and buses," he added.

Meanwhile, the overall air quality in the national capital remained in the 'severe' category on Saturday afternoon, as per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

(With ANI inputs)