'Pollution not a state problem': As Delhi chokes, AAP leader passes the buck to Centre

New Delhi, Nov 02: Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday blamed the Centre for stubble burning in Punjab and said it is because of the Centre and the LG that the capital is reeling under such severe pollution right now.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader also appealed to the people to do work from home if possible and avoid taking out private vehicles.

At a press conference held today, the minister asked the people to work from home if possible and avoid taking out private vehicles on roads during these difficult times.

During the conference, the minister said, "Stubble burning in Punjab is happening due to Centre as they didn't support Punjab govt, farmers to stop it."

The AAP leader also appealed to the government of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to form regional special task force to reduce air pollution in areas adjoining Delhi like Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida.

"The pollution problem is not the state's problem. It happens due to the air system that develops," said the Delhi minister.

Gopal Rai also said that LG Delhi did not give clearance to the 'Red light on, Gaddi off' campaign, which was supposed to be started from October 28 to November 28. The campaign was aimed to curb air pollution.

However, the LG office had said to the chief minister Arvind kajriwal to reconsider the campaign, questioning the effectiveness of such an "ad-hoc" measure as the national capital reels under high air pollution.

Delhi's air on Wednesday remained in 'very poor' category with Air Quality Index (AQI) 354.

Notably, an AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 severe.

The air quality of the National Capital Region (NCR) also plunged. Noida stood at 406 and continued to remain in the 'severe' category, while Gurugram's AQI stood at 346 and continued to remain in the 'very poor category, according to data released by SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research) India.