New Delhi, 10 November (H.S.): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has alleged that PM2.5 readings were unavailable at 36 of Delhi’s 59 air quality monitoring stations amid worsening pollution levels in the national capital. Questioning the government’s response to the crisis, he asked when it would provide the country with an account of its efforts to tackle air pollution. He accused the government of focusing on publicity and political blame games instead of taking concrete measures to address the problem.

In a post on social media platform X, Kharge recalled that water tankers had been deployed to spray water around air quality monitoring stations last year, triggering allegations that pollution readings were being artificially brought down. He claimed that this year, as pollution levels rose, PM2.5 data went missing at 36 of Delhi’s 59 monitoring stations.

He also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on May 8, 2019, when he had described air pollution as a major challenge, and alleged that his government had taken little action to address the problem.

Kharge said people across Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan were struggling for clean air. He observed that toxic smog returns every year between October and February, while the government continues to offer assurances and engage in a cycle of mutual accusations.

Citing data from the Global Burden of Disease study and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), Kharge said an estimated 17,188 deaths in Delhi in 2023 were attributable to particulate pollution, accounting for nearly 15 per cent of the total deaths in the city.

He further claimed that air pollution-related causes accounted for the deaths of 169,400 children under the age of five in India in 2021. Research has also linked exposure to PM2.5 pollution to adverse effects on lung development in children and an increased risk of mortality, particularly in northern states, he said.

Kharge also referred to information obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) application in September, which reportedly revealed that Rs 1,154 crore collected in Delhi as environmental compensation—nearly 60 per cent of the total amount collected—remained unspent. He added that Delhi had utilised only 17 per cent of the funds released under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) up to December 2025.

The Congress president further said the Supreme Court had given the BJP-governed states of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan two weeks to submit detailed responses and proposed measures to address the pollution crisis.

Emphasising the urgency of the issue, Kharge said clean air was a fundamental right of every citizen.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar