New Delhi (India), May 15: As Delhi continues to reel under scorching temperatures nearing the high 30s in degrees Celsius, the city’s air quality has also deteriorated sharply. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded an alarming Air Quality Index (AQI) of 350 at Punjabi Bagh on Thursday.
However, controversy erupted when former AAP MLA accused authorities of underreporting the real pollution figures. He claimed the AQI had touched 500 and blamed the BJP-led administrations, saying, “The four-engine BJP government has led Delhi to unprecedented pollution levels in this season. Official data is being manipulated—this is a fraud against the people.”
Backing these claims, AAP leader and Delhi’s Leader of Opposition Atishi cited historical CPCB data, noting that between 2022 and 2024, the AQI on May 15 had never exceeded 243. “Today, it’s at 500. Will the BJP take responsibility for Delhi’s worsening air pollution? Where is Delhi’s Environment Minister @mssirsa?” she questioned on X.
Amid the rising political heat, Delhi’s Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, South Delhi BJP MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, and Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh visited the Okhla landfill site to address concerns over waste management.
Sirsa assured that the city’s landfill crisis was being addressed under the leadership of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. “Like dinosaurs became extinct, these landfills too will vanish. By October 2025, we will remove 20 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste. These garbage mountains will disappear,” he said.
Sirsa added that by 2028, all landfill sites in Delhi would be eliminated. Bidhuri echoed the sentiment, stating that the Okhla landfill was a major concern in his South Delhi constituency and promised it would be transformed into a green zone before 2026.