Delhi air pollution: AAP slams Delhi govt for alleged air quality data ‘manipulation’

On Monday morning, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) criticized the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Delhi for allegedly manipulating air quality data by shutting down monitoring stations. AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj questioned the trustworthiness of the government in a video posted on X, claiming, "The government which shuts down air quality monitoring stations on the night of Diwali, the government that does data fraud, how will you trust such a government?"

During the period of intense air pollution following the Deepavali celebrations on November 8-9, air quality levels in certain parts of Delhi exceeded 66 times the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommended 24-hour limit for PM2.5 particles. However, the data from several monitoring stations operated by the Delhi government's Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) was unavailable during the peak pollution hours on November 8 night. This discrepancy suggests that the actual pollution spike might have been even higher.

The AAP has been alleging data manipulation from the BJP government, claiming that the government is openly committing fraud. They recently wrote to the Central Air Quality Regulatory Authority (CAQM) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) about the data manipulation. The party has previously accused the BJP government of manipulating AQI data by spraying water on monitoring stations, which they consider not just corruption but a life-threatening issue.