Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged here on Friday that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre did not take any step to check pollution in Delhi.
Addressing a press conference at the party office here, Ramesh, the Congress general secretary in charge of Communications, said, “The Central government is responsible for the severe air pollution in Delhi as it had not taken any effective steps to check pollution in the past 10 years.”
Pointing out that the primary responsibility of the Centre is to take effective steps to control pollution, he said, “The environmental problems of Delhi cannot be dealt with by the Delhi government alone as the Capital is also connected with neighbouring states like Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan.”
“The efforts that have been made in the last 10 years to address air pollution and the claims that have been made are not visible and for the people of Delhi today, air pollution is a big threat to public health. The National Clean Air Programme Programme was announced but it has had no impact in checking air pollution, the MP lamented.
Referring to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, he noted that environment holds a special place in the elections to seven seats as the national capital was one of the most “polluted” cities in the world.
“On behalf of our party, I want to once again assure the people of Delhi that the issues I have raised will be given priority by the INDIA bloc government and within a time frame, we will show the difference that the Delhi metropolis, where people can experience such clean air, can see water in Yamuna, can see clear water,” he added.
Voting for the seven parliamentary Lok Sabha seats is scheduled to take place on 25th May.