Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor on Tuesday hit out at state environment minister Gopal Rai over city’s pollution stating that if he had put as much effort into addressing real issues as he does in making statements and writing letters about artificial rain, the situation in Delhi could have improved significantly.
Taking a jibe at Rai, he said that if the Delhi minister had timely written enough letters to AAP’s Punjab government to stop stubble burning, or to the national capital’s PWD to repair broken roads, the outcomes could have been better. The BJP spokesperson questioned the political promises made by Rai regarding artificial rain, asking whether the Delhi government has any scientific feasibility report on this, and whether such an experiment has ever been conducted in India.
He also inquired about the potential costs for the initiative and whether the Delhi government has any estimate of these expenses. He further questioned whether Rai is aware of the dangers posed by silver iodide, a chemical used in artificial rain, which could harm the environment and degrade Delhi’s soil quality.
He pointed out claiming that during the last three days alone, 1,925 new incidents of stubble burning have been reported in Punjab. Since September 15 this year, a total of 9,925 incidents have occurred in Punjab, compared to 1,153 in Haryana and 3,308 in Uttar Pradesh, he claimed.