CM Manohar Lal Khattar must quit over farm fires: AAP

NEW DELHI:  The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday demanded the resignation of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for allegedly failing to take necessary measures to check stubble burning in the state.
The party said the Khattar government has no solution to the issue, alleging that three times more stubble has been burnt in the state this year compared to last year.

It claimed that there have been 62 incidents of stubble burning in Haryana in 2021, 80 in 2022 and 277 incidents so far in 2023. The AAP demanded that the Haryana government should take proactive measures to control farm fires that have shown a rising trend in the state this year as compared to previous years.

While addressing a press conference on Monday, Haryana AAP senior vice president Anurag Dhanda alleged inaction on the part of the Haryana government in controlling the situation. “There are satellite images which indicate that there is a rising trend in farm fires this time. Why is this happening despite the government claiming to have taken several steps in controlling them? The Haryana government needs to take steps to ensure that people do not face the ill effects of pollution,” he said.                                                                                          (pic credit- X.com)

AAP chief national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar cited various measures taken by the Punjab and Delhi governments to tackle the problem. “It is the political will of CM Arvind Kejriwal and the consistent efforts of the people of Delhi in the war against pollution that in the Economic Survey 2021-22 report, which was tabled in Parliament recently, it was stated that between 2016 and 2021, PM2.5 concentration (in Delhi) reduced by 22 per cent, whereas PM10 concentration reduced by 27 per cent,” she claimed.

Referring to real-time data, Kakkar said Delhi’s name does not appear on the list of most polluted cities. Meerut is ranked third, Valsad is ranked eighth, Alwar is ranked eleventh, and Karnal is ranked twenty-third, she claimed.

Act against dust norm violators: Rai to officials Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Monday directed officials to take strict action against construction agencies found violating anti-dust norms at Sarai Kale Khan here. As part of the Delhi government’s anti-dust campaign, Rai inspected several construction sites in the area and found they did not have a working anti-smog gun, water sprinklers and tin sheds to prevent dust pollution. He directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to issue notice to the concerned project proponents. He said a penalty will be imposed on the violators if they fail to submit a satisfactory reply within 24 hours.