CM blames past regimes for pollution, vows stronger and faster control efforts

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday blamed the previous governments for showing “no interest” in tackling Delhi’s pollution and said her administration has taken a series of measures, from large-scale dust mitigation to accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), to improve the Capital’s air quality.

Ms. Gupta led a major cleaning and washing drive on the Ring Road at Khyber Pass Chowk in Civil Lines, calling the campaign an important step towards a pollution-free Delhi. “The Delhi government is extremely serious about pollution control. A comprehensive anti-pollution campaign is under way across Delhi. Dust is a major contributor to pollution. To address this permanently, roads are being constructed wall-to-wall,” she said.

The Chief Minister said that previous governments “neither showed interest in road construction nor ensured wall-to-wall development”, which resulted in dust rising across the city throughout the year.

‘Use public transport’

Ms. Gupta said the government has taken multiple steps to combat pollution, including dust mitigation using mist technology, supplying cooking gas connections in slum clusters, and providing heaters to security guards to prevent open burning. She said the government is rapidly moving towards  fully transitioning public transport to electric vehicles. “Currently, around 3,500 electric buses are operating on Delhi’s roads, and the government aims to convert the city’s entire public transport system to EVs by the end of 2026,” Ms. Gupta said, urging the public to carpool and use public transport more frequently.

Meanwhile, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the government had imposed penalties of over ₹7 crore this year on construction sites violating pollution norms. He described the pollution crisis as a “legacy problem” inherited from more than a decade of Aam Aadmi Party rule in the Capital. Mr. Sirsa announced several new measures, including appointing 100 surveyors for door-to-door and road-to-road assessments, to curb dust pollution and ensure proper road maintenance.