Delhi: AAP govt has ‘failed’ to implement firecracker ban, allege oppn parties

NEW DELHI, (PTI): Opposition BJP and Congress on Tuesday hit out at the AAP government, alleging it had failed to implement the firecracker ban on Diwali to curb pollution in Delhi, even as Environment Minister Gopal Rai said there was ”30 per cent less pollution” here as compared to last year.

The Delhi government had in September announced a complete ban on the production, sale and use of all types of firecrackers till January 1, 2023, including on Diwali, a practice it has been following for the last two years.

BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga on social media shared several videos of people defying the ban on Diwali to take a dig at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, while his party said the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation should accept that it has ”failed” to curb pollution.

Using the hashtag ‘DhuaHuaKejriwal’, Bagga, among several videos, shared on Twitter clips of a boy and some other people bursting firecrackers.

Blaming the Delhi government for firecracker burning during the festival despite a ban, Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar said, ”The air quality in Delhi has deteriorated because the Kejriwal government didn’t take proper action.” However, Environment Minister Rai, said that there was ”30 per cent less pollution on Diwali” in the national capital as compared to last year and that the city recorded its ”best air quality for the day after the festival” in five years.

In the run up to Diwali, BJP leaders had targeted the government over the complete ban on firecrackers, dubbing the Kejriwal dispensation ”anti-Hindu”.

Questioning Chief Minister Kejriwal on the results of the ban, Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana in a tweet in Hindi said, ”What did you get out of cracker ban on Diwali? Last year, the AQI (air quality index) was 444 on the next day after Diwali and today it is 425.” ”It was in hazardous category the and is today as well. You should accept that you have failed to stop pollution in Delhi,” he 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’.

”The air quality in Delhi has deteriorated because the Kejriwal government didn’t take proper action. Ban on production, sale and use firecrackers was announced but despite that, they were sold in the black market. There should have been stricter action,” Kumar said.

The Congress leader also alleged that while making a law, the Delhi government ”doesn’t pay attention” to its process of ”implementation” on the ground.

”When the Delhi government makes a law, they don’t think about how it has to be implemented on the ground. A government can’t make a law just for the sake of making it. They need to work on these policies throughout the year,” Kumar said.

When the Delhi Police was asked about the issue of people flouting the ban, its officials said action has been taken.

According to forecasting agencies, the air quality in Delhi on the morning after Diwali was recorded in the ”very poor” category but the situation was relatively better than previous years due to favourable meteorological conditions which diluted the effect of firecrackers and stubble burning.

”People of Delhi were very thoughtful on Diwali this year and I want to thank them. Today, the pollution level is the lowest in five years. The AQI of 323 is still worrying and tells us that air pollution will increase amid low temperatures in the coming days,” the Delhi environment minister said.

According to the agencies, the city is set to record its best air quality for the day after Diwali since 2015 on Tuesday.

The capital’s AQI stood at 310 at 11 pm on Monday. It increased to 326 by 6 am on Tuesday, remained stable till 9 am and started decreasing thereafter, according to the agencies.

Delhi had recorded an AQI of 382 on Diwali last year, 414 in 2020, 337 in 2019, 319 in 2017, and 431 in 2016, according to Central Pollution Control Board data.

It recorded a 24-hour average AQI of 312 at 4 pm on Monday — the second best for Diwali day in seven years. Before this, the city recorded an AQI of 281 on Diwali in 2018. (PTI)