Will fight, eliminate pollution: Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa
New Delhi: Delhi Environment Manjinder Singh Sirsa said on Friday that despite inheriting the pollution problem in legacy from the Arvind Kejriwal regime, the BJP government “will not run away from pollution, will fight it, and eliminate it”.
In his detailed speech in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, Sirsa presented a fact-based account of Delhi’s pollution problem, from its historical background to the present government’s action plan.
The minister said, “We will not run away from pollution. We will fight it, confront it, and eliminate it.”
He referred to landmark developments starting from the M.C. Mehta vs Union of India (1984–85) case to Supreme Court orders on CNG adoption, industrial relocation, and vehicular emission standards.
Despite these decisive interventions, he noted, Delhi’s air quality deteriorated sharply after 2014.
The Minister stated that between 2014 and 2025, global agencies such as WHO and IQAir repeatedly ranked Delhi as the world’s most polluted capital, exposing the complete failure of the previous AAP government.
He cited strong observations by the Supreme Court, High Court and NGT, where Delhi was repeatedly described as a “gas chamber” and “unlivable”, yet no serious corrective measures were taken.
Referring to CAG reports, Sirsa pointed out that the odd-even scheme failed, the PUC system remained weak, and even air quality monitoring stations were not installed as per prescribed guidelines.
He alleged that public money was spent heavily on publicity for one smog tower, odd-even and similar campaigns, with negligible impact on ground-level pollution.
In contrast, the Rekha Gupta-led government shifted to “action mode” against pollution.
“At all three landfill sites – Okhla, Bhalswa and Ghazipur – large-scale biomining is underway, removing thousands of metric tonnes of legacy waste every month. Around 45 acres of land have already been reclaimed, and the MCD has been provided special financial assistance for solid waste management,” he said.
For dust mitigation, end-to-end road carpeting, anti-smog guns, water sprinklers, mechanical road sweepers and a strict road-cutting policy have been implemented. Construction sites and industrial areas are under close surveillance, with heavy penalties and sealing action against violators, he said.
On vehicular pollution, the Minister informed the House that the ‘No PUC, No Fuel’ policy has been enforced year-round, fake PUC centres have been shut down, and the country’s largest fleet of electric buses is being rolled out.
He said by 2026, over 7,500 electric buses will be operational, significantly reducing dependence on private vehicles.
Moving towards a Greener Delhi, the Minister highlighted that for the first time since 1994, over 10,000 acres of land have been notified as Reserve Forest. Under the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign, lakhs of saplings have been planted, and several new urban forests are planned.
Under institutional reforms, expert committees have been constituted, long-pending recruitments in DPCC have been completed, and modern technological solutions have been adopted, he said.
Sirsa stated that these measures are already showing results in improved AQI levels and an increase in the number of “satisfactory air quality days”.
