Senior leaders of the Delhi BJP on Saturday hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi, accusing it of not fully utilise the special funds received from the central government for pollution control under the National Clean Air Programme.
The Delhi BJP has alleged that the failure to utilise around 70 per cent of the funds provided by the Centre for pollution control is evidence of criminal negligence on the part of the Delhi government. The state unit of the BJP also demanded that the Kejriwal government should release a white paper on the work done on pollution control in the last nine and a half years.
Addressing a joint press conference, senior Delhi BJP leaders, including Arvinder Singh Lovely, MPs Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Bansuri Swaraj, raised the issue of the city’s pollution, which is a major concern from the perspective of people’s health.
Hitting out at the AAP government, Bidhuri said, “This is not just an allegation by the BJP, but a fact confirmed by the World Health Organization, which reports that Delhi is one of the most polluted cities in the world.”
Claiming that the state of cleanliness and pollution in the city has worsened and is in dire straits, he demanded that criminal cases should be registered against Arvind Kejriwal on account of the prevailing condition.
“Due to pollution, 12,000 people die annually in Delhi, yet neither Arvind Kejriwal nor any of his ministers are willing to answer this,” Bidhuri said.
Bidhuri further alleged that the pollution control efforts of the AAP government are marred by corruption, claiming that it spent Rs 24 crore on the publicity of a Rs 1 crore stubble solution purchase.
Addressing the media, New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj claimed that the central government allocated a fund of Rs 742.69 crore rupees to the Delhi government under the National Clean Air Programme, but the Kejriwal government spent only 29.5 per cent of it.
Swaraj further sought an explanation from Delhi Minister Atishi as to why 70 per cent of the funds remain unspent.
Senior BJP leader Sardar Arvinder Singh Lovely claimed that Delhi is the lowest spender on pollution control among the 23 others and Union Territories, with Punjab coming in second.
He added that 40 per cent of Delhi’s pollution is vehicular, and 38 per cent is dust-related pollution.
Sardar Lovely further said that the Delhi Metro was always known for completing its work ahead of schedule, and claimed that now there are delays, for which the Kejriwal government is solely responsible.
He alleged that due to the Delhi government’s inactivity, Phase 3 of the metro has been delayed, and there is no talk about Phase 4.
The number of DTC buses, which was once 6,600, has now been reduced to around 3,300. Most of these buses are past their service life, and these factors contribute to the increasing pollution in the city, the BJP leader claimed.
Hitting out at the Kejriwal government over the burning issue, media head of the Delhi BJP Praveen Shankar Kapoor alleged that the ruling dispensation in the city continues to blame the Centre to hide its failures, whether it be the worsening pollution or the sorry state of civic amenities.