New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday dismissed a central government agency’s claim that stubble burning is responsible for only 10 per cent of the city’s pollution as “misleading”. He asserted that no agency has the “specific machinery” to measure either the component or the causes of pollution.
The chief minister said these “guessing games” should be stopped and the agencies should behave more responsibly about the figures and data they share.
SAFAR, the ministry of earth science’s air quality and weather forecast service, in a recent report had said that the share of stubble burning in the PM 2.5 concentration in Delhi has remained less than 10 per cent so far.
PM 2.5 stands for particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter. Particles narrower than 10 micrometres are the most hazardous because they can get deep into the lungs, and some may even get into the bloodstream.
Also read: Air Quality Index dips to ‘very poor’ in Delhi-NCR, crosses 300 mark in Ghaziabad, Noida
The chief minister also issued a statement, saying until a solution to the pollution coming from outside is found, the people of Delhi will keep “suffering”.
Agencies claiming little impact of stubble burning should behave more responsibly and sensitively about the figures and data they are sharing, he said.
The sources of pollution can only be measured using real-time source apportionment, he said in a statement.
He said his government was trying to import the specific machinery for this purpose.
“If we take a sample of air of this particular place, we can check the level of pollution and also measure the components of pollution like transport, stubble burning, etc.
“The components or causes of pollution can only be measured by that machinery. None of the agencies that are claiming figures on the stubble burning component of air pollution have this machinery,” he said.
Also read: As stubble burning begins, Punjab cracks down on farmers but poll-bound Haryana indecisive
If the agencies are claiming that stubble burning is causing 10 per cent of all the air pollution, then they should also be able to tell the Delhi government the source of the rest of the components of pollution, Kejriwal said.
“How could have local sources contributed to the sudden spike in pollution? There has been no source apportionment of pollution by any of these agencies. These guessing games should be stopped,” the chief minister said.
The local pollution sources of Delhi are the same as previous month and the month before that, he said, adding that clearly, the sudden spike in pollution is a result of smoke coming from outside.
At an event earlier in the day, Kejriwal questioned the basis of the analysis by agency and said it is “misleading”.
In response to a question, he said, “These agencies should refrain from misleading people. These are very sensitive information and these agencies which are giving these details should act responsibly.”
Also read: Winter pollution in Delhi could be less severe this year as stubble burning reduces by 41%
“We admit that Delhi has internal pollutants but these pollutants are causing the same amount of pollution as it was in September and October. Nothing drastic has happened in the last few days that would result in increasing the pollution except stubble burning which started a week back,” he said.
Delhi’s pollution level spikes during winter season when smog engulfs the national capital.
Many areas in the Delhi-National Capital Region recorded air quality in the “very poor” category on Wednesday morning, with particulate matter less than 10 micrometers in diameter being the primary pollutant.
The Delhi government had earlier shared pictures and data from NASA that showed large-scale stubble burning in areas surrounding Delhi.