Delhi’s air pollution crisis intensified after AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the government was suppressing or manipulating air-quality data, while Central Pollution Control Board readings showed several parts of the capital in the ‘Severe’ category on Monday morning.
Bharadwaj claimed that some areas recorded an air quality index above 3,000 on Sunday night and alleged that monitoring stations had been shut, new stations installed at distant locations and water sprinkled on stations to influence readings. He did not provide documentary evidence for the allegations in the statement reported by the Times of India.
“Government data is based on fraud. We revealed how stations were shut down, how 20 new AQI stations were set up at faraway locations in Delhi and how water is being sprinkled on stations. So, people do not trust the government’s AQI. I, for one, do not trust it,” Bharadwaj told news agency ANI.
The official measurements cited in the report were considerably lower than the figure alleged by Bharadwaj but still indicated hazardous conditions. The CPCB station at ITO recorded an AQI of 406 at about 4:20 am, placing it in the ‘Severe’ category. Rajiv Chowk recorded 381 at 1:30 am, while South Extension registered 360 at around 4 am, both within the ‘Very Poor’ range according to the report.
A thick layer of smog covered parts of the city, including the Inderlok area, reducing visibility during the early morning. The deterioration followed Diwali celebrations, with pollution levels becoming a matter of renewed public and political concern across the national capital.
Bharadwaj said that presenting misleading pollution figures could put residents’ lives at risk. He also demanded that the government take responsibility for the effects of firecracker use during Diwali. “If you are bursting firecrackers, do it, but take full responsibility for it. You cannot commit fraud,” he said.
The allegations place the operation and location of air-quality monitoring stations at the centre of the dispute. Such stations provide the measurements used by authorities and the public to understand pollution levels and trigger graded restrictions. The report, however, does not include a response from the Delhi government or the monitoring agencies to the specific claims about station closures, relocation or water sprinkling.
Delhi minister Kapil Mishra separately criticised AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, alleging on X that a campaign was being organised from Kejriwal’s residence to target Diwali and Sanatan Dharma in the name of pollution. The report did not provide independent evidence for that allegation either.
Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan remains in force across Delhi-NCR. The immediate official task is to maintain air-quality monitoring and implement the applicable emergency pollution-control measures as the capital continues to record severe and very poor readings in several locations.
