Delhi AQI hits 287-day low as Punjab farm fires spike; Sirsa targets AAP government

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa accused the AAP-led Punjab government of deliberately facilitating stubble burning, alleging that Punjab Police personnel were themselves helping set crop residue on fire.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), 57 of Delhi’s 59 monitoring stations recorded data on Tuesday, with PM2.5 emerging as the dominant pollutant. The impact of the rising pollution load was heavily visible across neighbouring cities.

Gurugram recorded an AQI of 305 (Very Poor), Noida 291 (Poor) and Ghaziabad 235 (Poor). Greater Noida recorded 189 (Moderate), while Faridabad was at 106 (Moderate), as per CPCB. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) after Delhi’s air quality entered the ‘Very Poor’ category.

According to satellite data from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), 798 paddy residue burning incidents were detected across six states on Tuesday. Punjab accounted for 584, followed by Rajasthan (100) and Madhya Pradesh (94).

Uttar Pradesh reported 10 incidents, Haryana eight and Uttarakhand two. Delhi recorded none. Between September 15 and November 3, 4,333 stubble burning incidents were detected across the six states, including 2,196 in Punjab.

Speaking to mediapersons, Sirsa cited 271 FIRs registered in Punjab. Citing official figures, he said Punjab recorded more than 900 incidents between October 26 and November 1. “During the same period, Haryana reported only 18 stubble burning incidents and Uttar Pradesh 59 while Punjab recorded more than 900 incidents," he said.

Delhi, he added, reported only one such incident. “Farmers did not set the fields on fire. Punjab Police personnel did,” he alleged, playing videos purportedly showing instances of field burning. Sirsa questioned the appointment of Reena Gupta, whom he described as a close relative of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, as chairperson of the Punjab Pollution Control Board.

Gupta was earlier an AAP spokesperson in Delhi. “In the history of Punjab, this has happened for the first time that a non-technical person has been appointed chairperson of the PPCB. She will fudge the data. The Punjab government has spent Rs 20-25 crore on advertisements to claim that no stubble burning is taking place in the state.

On the other hand, it is registering FIRs against farmers,” he alleged, adding that the Centre had provided Rs 5,000 crore to address the problem. AAP Punjab media in-charge Baltej Pannu, meanwhile, said that BJP leaders are making Punjab’s farmers scapegoats.

“Even before the paddy harvesting season had properly begun, certain leaders had started running a campaign to defame Punjab for Delhi's pollution. How can smoke from Punjab supposedly cross Haryana and reach Delhi through some imaginary pipeline so quickly?” The India Meteorological Department, meanwhile, said shallow fog was observed at a few places in Delhi in the morning.

Westerly winds of 10-15 kmph prevailed over the Capital, limiting pollutant dispersion. The IMD has forecast mainly clear skies, with morning mist likely on Wednesday. The maximum temperature on Tuesday settled at 29.1 degrees Celsius, 1.4 degrees below the season's average.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 16.4 degrees Celsius, 1.1 degrees above normal.