As Delhi continued to choke a day after Diwali, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the government of “AQI data fraud”, alleging that pollution readings were being manipulated to bring down the city’s overall air quality index (AQI).
Questioning the credibility of the government’s pollution data, he asked how citizens could trust a government that allegedly manipulated AQI figures and shut down monitoring stations on Diwali night. “People do not trust the Govt AQI; I, for one, do not trust it… In a video shared on X, Bharadwaj claimed that the government had installed 20 new monitoring stations in open areas surrounded by greenery and was sprinkling water around stations in heavily polluted localities to lower their readings. Last night, several areas in Delhi had an AQI of more than 3000,” he said. Delhi’s average AQI stood at 366 at 6:15 am on Monday, in the ‘very poor’ category, according to the CPCB’s Sameer app and HT Pollution Dashboard. The city’s average AQI was 376 on Diwali, compared with 369 a day earlier. Sonia Vihar recorded the highest AQI at 463, followed by Burari Crossing at 452, Jahangirpuri and Vivek Vihar at 447 each, Rohini at 442 and Delhi University’s North Campus at 440, according to the HT Pollution Dashboard. Earlier reporting noted: ‘AQI above 3,000’: AAP accuses Delhi govt of hiding pollution data, alleges stations ‘shut’ “If you are bursting firecrackers, do it, but take full responsibility for it. Earlier reporting noted: Bharadwaj claimed that several areas in Delhi recorded an air quality index (AQI) of over 3,000 on Sunday night, adding that people had lost faith in the government’s official pollution data.
He also accused the government of “vote chori”, “Ram Mandir chori”, “GDP data chori” and, now, “AQI data fraud”. Bharadwaj said he had repeatedly raised the issue with the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) through letters, but alleged that the manipulation continued. “Everyone is involved in this fraud,” he said. You cannot commit fraud,” Bharadwaj said.
Earlier reporting noted: NEW DELHI: AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday questioned the credibility of the government’s air quality data, alleging that monitoring stations had been shut down, new ones set up at distant locations and water sprinkled on stations to manipulate readings.
