Punjab Environment minister objects to Kejriwal's stubble burning remarks
Punjab Environment minister O P Soni on Friday took exception to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's statement in which he had blamed Punjab for rising pollution levels in the national capital. During his visit to Chandigarh on Thursday, Kejriwal had said stubble burning in Punjab was the sole reason behind the rising pollution levels in the national capital. A day later, Soni asked Kejriwal to see "facts and logic" before holding Punjab farmers responsible. He said Kejriwal should rather look for the internal reasons of Delhi air pollution as mentioned by the National Green Tribunal in its directions in Vardhaman Kaushik case. The Environment minister advised Kejriwal that he should see the scientific facts and logic before blaming hardworking farmers of the Punjab, who he said have opted various means offered by the government to manage paddy stubble and shunning the old practice of burning it in open fields. Soni claimed that the average air quality index (AQI) of Punjab in the month of October remained below 170, while in Delhi it remained above 350. "The average wind velocity remained below 1.5 km per hour and wind direction was from South East and going to North West but not towards Delhi," he said. "How can air pollutants reach Delhi, which is about 250 km from Punjab border and that too crossing whole of Haryana, which is burning its stubble in open fields," he asked. Soni said paddy was sown in 65 lakh acres in Punjab and till date about 21,000 fire incidents had been reported which were "just" 323 fire incidents per one lakh acre. "If the average is calculated per village, it is just less than two fire incidents per village," he said. "Kejriwal must not blame Punjab farmers without going through the scientific facts, figures and logic," the minister said, adding that due to awareness among farmers, this year fire incidents reduced by nearly 35 per cent as compared to last year, while average AQI of the state improved to 170 as against 275 the previous year. Soni advised Kejriwal not to indulge in "blame game" but to find out the reasons of air pollution within Delhi and try to take measures so that Delhites may breathe in fresh air. PTI
