New Delhi, Nov. 3 -- Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday claimed that the national capital had recorded 220 clean-air days so far this year, the highest in a decade, while accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government of concealing the extent of stubble burning in the state, which he said was contributing to Delhi's pollution.
Addressing a press conference, Sirsa described October 2026 as the cleanest October in the national capital in the past 10 years and claimed that Delhi's average AQI had improved by around 10 per cent compared with previous years. He attributed the improvement to measures taken by the Rekha Gupta-led government and cooperation from residents. Targeting the AAP government in Punjab, Sirsa alleged that more than 1,000 farm fire incidents had taken place in the state despite claims that stubble burning had been brought under control. He further claimed that the Punjab government had spent Rs 20-25 crore on advertisements to project that no such incidents had occurred this year, while 271 FIRs had been registered against farmers.
"There are more than 1,000 stubble-burning cases that we know of and 271 FIRs filed," he said, accusing the Punjab government of giving contradictory accounts of the situation.
The minister also questioned the appointment of the Punjab Pollution Control Board chairperson, alleging that a person without a technical background had been brought from Delhi for the post and had close family links with AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal.
Sirsa further alleged that Punjab Police personnel and government officials were facilitating stubble burning in certain areas, even as action was being taken against farmers.
On the implementation of GRAP Stage II, he said the restrictions would have greater relevance in neighbouring NCR areas, as Delhi was already enforcing measures under higher stages of the pollution-control plan.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.