Delhi pollution row: CM Rekha Gupta blames Punjab as AQI worsens

Delhi’s familiar winter pollution battle has taken a political turn. As a thick haze settles over the capital, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has questioned whether neighbouring states are doing enough to stop stubble burning, while her environment minister has accused Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party government of misrepresenting farm-fire data.

But beyond the accusations, the bigger question remains: how much of Delhi’s toxic air can be tackled through state-level action, and how much requires coordination across the National Capital Region?

Rekha Gupta accuses states of allowing stubble burning

Speaking on Wednesday, Gupta said the Centre and NCR states were discussing a coordinated response to pollution. However, she questioned the commitment of some governments to controlling agricultural fires. "If some states are unwilling to act, there is little we can do about it. At times, I feel they deliberately allow stubble burning to begin so that its impact is felt in Delhi, and their spokespersons can then sit here and claim that pollution levels have increased," she said.

Her remarks appeared directed at Punjab, where the AAP government has faced repeated criticism from the BJP over farm fires. The allegations, however, remain contested, and the contribution of stubble burning is only one part of Delhi’s wider pollution problem.

Sirsa alleges Punjab is hiding the scale of farm fires

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa escalated the attack on Tuesday, accusing the Punjab government of presenting misleading figures on stubble burning. He claimed that more than 1,000 incidents had come to the authorities’ notice and that 271 FIRs had been registered against farmers.

The New Indian Express reported Sirsa’s allegation that Punjab had spent ₹20-25 crore on advertisements claiming there were no farm fires. The AAP has disputed the BJP’s account of the situation. Its Punjab leader Baltej Singh Pannu has said stubble-burning incidents have fallen significantly.

Sirsa also claimed that Bathinda’s AQI had crossed 1,000. However, this figure needs caution: the CPCB’s official Indian AQI scale runs from zero to 500. Its reported data placed Punjab’s Khanna at 293, in the ‘poor’ category, while Bathinda was not identified as the state’s worst-affected city.

Delhi AQI worsens as several neighbourhoods enter severe category

On Wednesday morning, Delhi’s overall AQI stood at 369, in the ‘very poor’ category, according to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology. Hindustan Times reported that 21 of the capital’s 59 monitoring stations had entered the ‘severe’ category, with Punjabi Bagh recording 452.

A separate reading of 605 was also reported at 7.41 am, but it should not be confused with the CPCB’s standard AQI scale. The Commission for Air Quality Management has already invoked Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan.

Electric buses, biogas and solar power form Delhi’s long-term plan

Gupta says the government is pursuing a wider strategy covering transport, energy and waste management. She said Delhi was targeting 14,000 electric buses by 2029 and had established three biogas plants to convert cattle dung into energy.

The chief minister also cited solar power, electric mobility, dust control and plantation drives, claiming that 70 lakh saplings had been planted and the Ridge notified as a forest.

But cleaner buses and renewable energy cannot deliver an immediate fix for a city struggling with multiple pollution sources. The challenge is to turn these long-term plans into measurable improvements while ensuring neighbouring states act together on farm fires, industrial emissions and regional pollution.

(With inputs from ANI)