Delhi's Pollution Battle: How CM Rekha Gupta Vows to Fix Legacy Failures

Talking to reporters, she said, “The previous government inflicted pain on the city through their apathy and failure, and our efforts are a salve to the wounded capital.”

“What we are doing today should have been addressed by the previous governments. Our measures will take some time to show results,” she said, pointing to delisting of drains to prevent waterlogging and road repairs and installation of mist sprayers, among other steps, to counter pollution.

She hit out at the previous Delhi governments and said, “Had the Congress government during its 15-year rule and the AAP government during its 10-year rule done their bit to tackle pollution, then the situation in Delhi would not have been so bad.”

“The legacy problems faced by Delhiites today, including waterlogging and pollution, are the result of the apathy of the previous governments,” she said.

Earlier, CM Gupta trained her guns on former CM and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, saying that he used to leave people to their fate when pollution peaked in Delhi and escape to other cities for Vipassana every six months.

“We are collectively fighting this battle. We are not like them who abandon Delhi to its fate and run off for Vipassana every 6 months,” said CM Gupta, in a post on X.

“My Delhi, My Responsibility - we are working with this sentiment. The problem is here too, and the solution will also emerge from here...for Delhi, by staying in Delhi. Short-term and long-term measures are being taken for pollution control,” she said.

We are finding solutions to the pollution problem in Delhi by remaining in the city itself, she said, adding, “If the public is suffering, so are our family members. So, we have to collectively take steps to end pollution from its root.”

She said the Delhi government has ensured that there will be no shortage of resources in this fight against pollution, but negligence in work will not be tolerated.

CM Rekha Gupta described the absence of even a single incident of stubble burning in the National Capital Territory of Delhi during the winter season of 2025 marks a significant and tangible achievement of the Delhi government’s pollution control policy.

She said that in 2025, paddy was cultivated on approximately 7,000 acres of land in Delhi. Despite this, due to the government’s continuous and well-structured efforts, zero incidents of stubble burning were recorded across the entire NCT.

- IANS