'It is impossible ...': Delhi minister apologises for toxic air; says working to fix it

NEW DELHI: Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday said it was unrealistic to expect any elected government to bring down air pollution within a short period, as the Delhi-NCR continued to struggle with severe smog conditions, with air quality ranging from poor to severe, raising serious health concerns for residents."It is impossible for any elected government to reduce AQI in 9-10 months. I apologise for the pollution in Delhi. We are doing better work than the dishonest AAP government, and we have reduced AQI each day. This disease of pollution is given to us by the Aam Aadmi Party, and we are working to fix it," Sirsa said. Sirsa announced additional measures to curb pollution, saying that from Thursday, only BS-VI vehicles from outside Delhi will be permitted to enter the national capital. He also said that vehicle owners without a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) will be denied fuel at petrol pumps starting Thursday.According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), several areas including Anand Vihar, AIIMS, Ghazipur and India Gate reported very poor to severe air quality. Anand Vihar and Ghazipur recorded an AQI of 410 each, categorised as ‘severe’, while AIIMS stood at 397 and India Gate at 380, both in the ‘very poor’ category.With pollution levels exceeding critical limits, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked all measures under Stage-IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR. Stage-IV is the strictest level of restrictions, applied when AQI exceeds 450, and is aimed at reducing public exposure and preventing further deterioration of air quality.Last week, Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta had also addressed protests over rising pollution levels, saying the crisis was the result of years of neglect and would take time to resolve. Speaking at an event in Pitampura, she said the government needed sufficient time to deal with the long-standing problem."Those who make big statements and protest at India Gate… pollution is not something that appeared today, it has been a problem for years.What did the previous government do? Where were you at that time? This is a backlog of 27 years. The government needs at least 27 months to clear the backlog of 27 years," Gupta said.