Delhi’s environment minister, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, on Tuesday spoke of his concern over Delhi’s unabating air pollution, revealing he could never have expected any elected government to reduce levels of air quality in nine to ten months.

Apologizing to Delhi citizens, Sirsa said, “We received a sixty-year-old problem, and we’re doing our bit every day to deal with it,” while also pinning the blame on Delhi’s previous Aam Aadmi Party government.Sirsa stated that what was occurring in the city of Delhi was that it was suffering from what he called the “disease of pollution” and that preventing all this damage that had taken place over the years certainly cannot be accomplished in a short span of time.He also stated that the current government has always been working towards bettering the conditions and that the levels of air pollution were being brought down gradually.

As per the Central Pollution Control Board, the air quality index in the national capital, Delhi, was 354 at 4 pm on Tuesday.

He stated that “from Thursday onwards, vehicles that do not have a valid ‘pollution under control’ certificate would not get refueled in the petrol pumps .” The vehicles will be given one day to comply with this requirement. According to Sirsa, fuel will be denied to those vehicles that do not comply.

According to Sirsa, for almost eight months this year, the Delhi skyline was relatively clear with better air quality compared to the previous year. He admitted that the situation changed lately with the increase in the level of air pollution but explained that the situation is better over the last ten months.

In a sting on the Aam Aadmi Party, Sirsa accused the party of having harmed Delhi during its ruling period and doing the same now by trying to create a diversion by protesting regarding air pollution.He questioned the measures that were put into practice by the former government regarding the air that people breathe.

Mentioning the initiatives undertaken by the present governemnt, Sirsa said that work is being conducted on a daily basis for the reduction of pollution. Citing the reduction of the level of garbage hills by 15 meters, he also said that 45 acres of land have already been cleaned and reclaimed. He also said that over 2,000 pollution monitoring plants have already been put up by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.

The minister further added that biomethanation plants are also causing pollution, and to avoid that, heaters are being used to make the process cleaner.The strictness against the polluting vehicles is being implemented, and challans are being given for violating the norms of pollution under control, he added.

Sirsa also added that 13 points where pollution is a serious issue have been identified in the city and the authorities concerned have been directed to take corrective and appropriate action on that behalf. He also claimed that a major attainment has been made as levels of air quality index in such points were lower this year compared to the last ten years, except for the time when Covid cases prevailed.

On public transport, Sirsa said that the government was also focusing on clean mobility to reductions in transport emissions. There were plans to introduce 7,500 electric buses in Delhi, according to Sirsa. Sirsa said that there was also formation of a scientific committee that had held meetings to come up with strategies to control pollution.