New Delhi [India], April 2 (ANI): AAP MLA and former environment minister of Delhi Gopal Rai has defended the Aam Aadmi Party’s government in the national capital noting that the recent report from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the ‘Prevention of Air Pollution from Vehicles.’ that was tabled in the Assemby did not include any references to “corruption.”
“The CAG report on air pollution, which has been presented in the assembly, is being scrutinized by BJP leaders to find corruption, but not a single line of corruption has been found so far. The report highlights that the AAP government was the only one that successfully curbed air pollution by implementing schemes like the Odd-Even scheme,” he said.
He further stated that under the previous Delhi government the air quality in the national capital had improved and the number of good air quality days had increased to 208 out of 365.
“In 2016, Delhi had only 109 good air quality days out of 365. Under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party government worked in all directions, increasing the number of good air quality days to 208 last year. I challenge the BJP–while we increased good AQI days from 109 to 208, you take it to 309, then we will talk to you in the House,” he said.
The AAP leader also praised the Odd-Even rule implemented in Delhi, calling it a successful campaign.
“Odd-Even failed all over the world, but Delhi is the only city where it was successful. To reduce vehicle pollution, apart from Odd-Even, we also ran the ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ program in Delhi. Delhi is the first state in the country where 2,000 electric buses have hit the roads. BJP leaders claim these buses came because of the Centre–if that is the case, why haven’t similar electric buses arrived in double-engine states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh? Even today, Anand Vihar in Delhi is filled with smoke due to diesel buses coming from neighboring states,” he said.
Rai emphasized the accomplishments of the previous Delhi government in tackling environmental issues.
“When our government was formed in Delhi, the green belt covered 20 percent of the city; we increased it to 23 percent. In our last tenure, we set a target of planting 2 crore saplings, which we accomplished in just four years. We also converted 100 percent of the industries using polluted fuels in Delhi to PNG. By providing 24-hour electricity, we eliminated the need for generators, reducing smoke emissions,” he said.
He also stated that the same amount was allocated to combating air pollution as during the previous government.
“As for the smog tower, two pilot projects were carried out in Delhi on the orders of the Supreme Court. The BJP-led central government installed a smog tower in Anand Vihar, while the AAP government in Delhi installed one in Connaught Place. Both governments spent the same amount on this project and have the reports of this experiment,” he said.
The CAG report, titled Performance Audit of Prevention and Mitigation of Vehicular Air Pollution in Delhi was presented in Delhi Assembly on April 1. (ANI)
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