The Centre must hold an "emergency" meeting of states neighbouring Delhi to devise a mechanism to deal with crop residue burning due to which the city's air quality has deteriorated, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Sunday.
The city's air quality index (AQI) stood at 437 in the severe category at 8 am on Sunday. It was 449 on Saturday.
Incidents of crop residue (parali) burning in other states and the air quality in Delhi are linked as deteriorating air quality figures show, Rai said at a press conference. "There was also effect of cracker bursting on Diwali but it's waning now. The effect of 'parali' burning, however, continues to worsen air quality in Delhi," he said.
Rai said he has written to the Union environment minister, asking for an "emergency" meeting of states, including Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi to find a mechanism to address the perennial issue of crop residue burning and high level of air pollution in the national capital. Crop residue burning in neighbouring states is responsible for worsening air quality in Delhi during winters, he added.
People of Delhi are suffocating, choking on polluted air due to the negligence of the Centre and neighbouring states, Rai said, citing 21,623 stubble burning incidents recorded through NASA imagery across Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh during November 1-6. "I have written a letter to the Union environment minister, seeking an emergency meeting over the pollution situation. We can not get rid of pollution in Delhi unless and until immediate as well as long-term steps are implemented in the neighbouring states to curb 'parali' burning," he said.
The Kejriwal government's constant appeals for a joint action plan to get rid of stubble burning and air pollution have fallen on deaf ears. The Centre and the neighbouring states are showing no concern for human lives, Rai claimed. The data from November 1 to 6 states the obvious as and when stubble burning incidents increased, the pollution levels of Delhi worsened, he said.
"On November 1, there were 2,077 incidents of stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The air quality index (AQI) on this day in Delhi was 281 which also included local pollution. There were 3,291 incidents on November 2 and AQI was 303. "Further, on November 3, 2,775 incidents were recorded and the AQI was 314. There were 3,383 incidents on November 4, while the AQI was 382. The number of stubble burning incidents shot up to 5,728 on November 5, and the AQI levels, including pollution from firecrackers, rose to 462. The number of burnings came down to 4,369 on November 6, and the AQI came down to 437," the minister said.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'. Air pollution generated within Delhi has reduced because of the Kejriwal government's efforts. There were no incidents of 'parali' burning because of decomposer distribution, Rai said.
Due to rampant bursting of crackers on Thursday despite restrictions in place, the air quality in Delhi was the poorest in five years post the festival with rise in incidents of stubble burning in neighbouring states. The city's AQI slipped to the severe category on Thursday night.
The environment minister said data clearly showed that pollution reaches devastating levels in Delhi as the number of stubble burning incidents rise. The situation becomes aggravated further with pollution generated by firecrackers, he added.
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