Union minister Bhupender Yadav denies receiving Gopal Rai’s letter on cross-border pollution meet

New Delhi: The office of Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav Thursday denied receiving any request from Gopal Rai, his counterpart in the Delhi government, requesting for a meeting with states parts of which fall under the National Capital Region (NCR) to discuss air quality management.

The response comes two days after Rai issued a statement claiming he had written to Yadav urging the central government to facilitate collaboration between Delhi and it’s neighbouring states to address cross-border sources of pollution, seeking a common strategy to combat air pollution in the national capital.

A copy of the letter dated 20 August, 2024, was also shared by the Delhi government.

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“…I urge the central government to take stronger action by facilitating collaborations between Delhi and its neighbouring states to address cross-border sources of pollution,” it read.

Listing out a list of steps taken by the Delhi government to curb air pollution in the Capital, including the seasonal ban on firecrackers, deployment of anti-smog guns and the switch to PNG fuels in industries, the Delhi minister said pollution levels remained high because of factors that were not under their jurisdictional control. “I believe that with the central government’s support, we can build on the foundation laid by the Delhi government work towards a long-term solution to this crisis,” read the letter by Rai.

However, Yadav’s office denied receiving any such letter. It said the last communication it received from the Delhi environment department was on 20 September, 2023, requesting the ministry to convene a meeting with NCR states on air quality management.

The Union ministry had convened a meeting on 25 July this year, on its own accord, to take stock of pollution control measures by states, said the Union minister’s office.

“No letter has been received recently from the Hon’ble Environment Minister, GNCTD on the subject. A meeting chaired by Secretary, MoEF&CC was convened on 25th July 2024 to discuss the action plan for the next one year including preparations for the coming winter season.

“All State Governments including Delhi, and the concerned agencies such as SPCBs and DPCC were requested to take action on priority as per the deliberations and decisions, (sic),” the ministry’s response read.

As winter sets in each year, Delhi’s air quality plummets to the “severe” category due to a toxic haze, which the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has often blamed on stubble burning by farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. 

This is an updated version of the report

(Edited by Tikli Basu)

Also Read: Air pollution linked with 33,000 deaths in India each year between 2008 & 2019, finds Lancet study

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