Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva on Saturday criticised Environment Minister Gopal Rai for praising Punjab’s efforts to reduce crop burning, while claiming that the state has been reprimanded by the Supreme Court for failing to curb stubble burning, with over 800 incidents recorded in the past week alone.
Sachdeva further said that the central government provided Rs 3,333 crore last year, along with 1.5 lakh machines, to control pollution in Punjab, but these machines remain unused in warehouses.
The Delhi BJP chief questioned why these machines were not distributed among farmers to enable them to prevent pollution.
He alleged that neither the Delhi government nor the Punjab government intends to reduce pollution or stop stubble burning even as the central government has proposed to use stubble as fuel in power plants in Panipat and Bathinda.
The saffron party’s city unit chief claimed that approximately 2.5 million children in Delhi currently suffer from lung diseases, blaming the Delhi government for the negligence.
Sachdeva also criticised the AAP government for making grand announcements like 21-point pollution control projects every year without any tangible results on the ground.
He also asked the Delhi government how it plans to clean the large network of roads covered with dust, and how it manages to clear debris and sludge at intersections and drains, respectively.
Sachdeva also urged Gopal Rai to inform Delhi residents about the measures being taken to control vehicular pollution.
He also mentioned that under the central government’s FAME II scheme, Delhi received 1,785 buses, and asked Kejriwal to explain how many electric buses his government has purchased.