We will make all efforts and clean Delhi air: State environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa

ANI May 15, 2025 310 views

Delhi's environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa clashed with former AAP minister Atishi over worsening air quality. The BJP leader pledged to undo what he called "AAP's 10-year pollution legacy" while showcasing landfill reduction progress. Atishi had earlier blamed the BJP for Delhi's unprecedented May AQI spike to 500. Meanwhile, Kejriwal claimed air quality never deteriorated this badly during AAP's governance.

"The 'disease' that 'AAP-da' gave us for 10 years, we will clean Delhi's air" - Manjinder Singh Sirsa
We will make all efforts and clean Delhi air: State environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa
New Delhi, May 15: Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa hit out at former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi after the latter alleged that the AQI had reached 500 on Thursday morning.

Key Points

1

Sirsa blames AAP for Delhi's pollution legacy

2

BJP claims 50% landfill reduction

3

Atishi alleges AQI hit 500 under BJP

4

Kejriwal says pollution worse than AAP era

Sirsa doubled down on Atishi and said that the diseases the Aam Aadmi Party government gave in the last 10 years were being cured by the BJP.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, "I am very amazed that Atishi has been the CM and she is tweeting like this - yesterday, the weather department has told that there will be thunderstorms and duststorms - now, will we be blamed for such storms? But it's good that Atishi has expectations from us. But, the 'disease' that 'AAP-da' has given us for the last 10 years, we will make all efforts and will clean the air of Delhi."

He further said that the mountains of garbage have been reduced by 50 percent in the national capital.

"The air quality of Delhi will also improve. She should ask former CM Arvind Kejriwal why the disease has been left uncured for the last 10 years, and now we are curing these diseases," he added.

Earlier in a post on X, former Delhi CM Atishi claimed that the AQI was at 500 on Thursday morning.

"Delhi's AQI has never been so high in May. CPCB's own data shows that from 2022-2024, AQI on May 15 never exceeded 243. Today AQI is at 500. Will BJP take responsibility for the worsening air pollution in Delhi? Where is Delhi's Environment Minister @mssirsa?" Atishi shared on X.

As the Air Quality Index (AQI) Delhi climbed above 300 mark at several parts of Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal called out Bharaiya Janta Party saying that air pollution was never his bad during AAP regime at this time of year.

Taking to X, Arvind Kejriwal said, "Air pollution was never this bad during AAP regime at this time of the year."

In his post, Kejriwal attached a video by a media channel highlighting the increased pollution in the national capital. As of 1 pm, a high AQI of 382 was recorded by the CPCB on Thursday from Punjabi Bagh. An AQI of 283 was recorded at Anand Vihar, 331 at Ashok Vihar (Very Poor), 307 at RK Puram (Very Poor) and 298 at Bawana.

Meanwhile, Delhi environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa along with South Delhi MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh, visited the Okhla landfill site on Thursday.

Speaking on the situation of landfills in the country, Sirsa stated that the Delhi Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta was working on it and assured that by October 2025, 20 lakhs metric tonnes of legacy garbage would be removed.

"Just as dinosaurs became extinct, these landfills are also disappearing from the country. This is PM Modi's vision; which CM Rekha Gupta is working on. By October 2025, we will remove 20 lakhs metric tonnes of legacy garbage from here. After that, this mountain will almost disappear," Sirsa told ANI.

Reader Comments

R
Rahul K.
Why are politicians always blaming each other? We need solutions, not finger-pointing. Both AAP and BJP should work together to clean Delhi's air. Our children are suffering the most from this pollution. 😷
P
Priya M.
As a Delhi resident, I've seen pollution levels rise every year. The landfill situation is horrible! Glad someone is finally taking action, but October 2025 is too far away. We need faster solutions - what about stricter vehicle emission checks?
A
Amit S.
Comparing garbage mountains to dinosaurs? Really? This shows how unserious our leaders are about pollution. We need concrete plans with deadlines, not political drama. The AQI data doesn't lie - pollution is getting worse year by year.
N
Neha T.
The dust storms are natural, but what about the other 300 days of pollution? We need better public transport and green spaces. Stop blaming weather and start planting more trees! 🌳
S
Sanjay V.
I remember Delhi's air being bad even 15 years ago. This isn't a new problem. All governments have failed us. Instead of fighting, why can't they learn from cities like Chandigarh that manage pollution better?
K
Kavita R.
The landfill cleanup promise sounds good, but we've heard such promises before. Will believe it when I see it! Meanwhile, can we get more air purifiers in government schools at least? Our kids deserve clean air to breathe.

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Delhi pollution AQI Manjinder Singh Sirsa Atishi Arvind Kejriwal BJP vs AAP