Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said that stubble burning in Punjab was the sole reason behind the rising pollution levels in the national capital as he slammed the Centre for failing to provide straw management machinery to the farmers.
Justifying his claim by showing a satellite picture of stubble burning in Punjab as well as Haryana, Kejriwal rejected the claims that Delhi’s air quality had worsened due to its traffic or industries.
“This is a satellite image… You can see the red spots which indicate stubble burning in several parts of Punjab including Bathinda and Amritsar… There cannot be a more scientific (proof) than this,” Kejriwal said while addressing the media here.
“There is a small portion of Haryana (burning stubble) but its role is quite limited. Otherwise, it (stubble burning) is mostly happening in Punjab, Kejriwal said, adding that Delhi had neither witnessed a sudden rise in vehicles plying on the road nor new industries had opened up overnight.
Blaming the Centre for the mess, Kejriwal said that Union minister Harshvardhan had assured him “a few months ago” that both Punjab and Haryana would get grants to buy machines for managing stubble.
“Why did it not happen? He will have to answer it,” he added.
The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) national convener further said that the quality of air in Delhi deteriorates every year after October 25, once the farmers begin burning paddy stubble.
