New Delhi: Claiming that 10 months is too short a period to judge the government’s performance on pollution control, Delhi BJP MP Manoj Tiwari on Saturday said it should be given at least two years to address the problem effectively.
“Ten months cannot be the basis for any final assessment. Our work on pollution has just started and it will take at least two years,” Tiwari said.
He said air pollution remains a serious challenge for the national capital and asserted that the government has been working on it from day one.
In an interview with PTI Videos, he said people should trust the government, have patience and cooperate with the steps being taken.
“Pollution cannot be reduced overnight. We request the people of Delhi to have patience and support the steps being taken because this is possible only with public cooperation,” he said.
Delhi recorded a significant improvement in air quality on Friday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) standing at 236, following which GRAP Stage 3 restrictions were revoked in the city.
Sharing a personal example, Tiwari said he is an asthma patient and in previous years, he had to stay outside Delhi for about one-and-a-quarter months due to severe pollution, but this year the difficult period lasted only around 15 to 16 days.
“This time, the situation was there but it remained for only fifteen to sixteen days. The rest of the time, I stayed in Delhi with some discomfort.
If there is a proper review, the situation is better than previous years, but we cannot make claims yet,” he said.
Speaking about the Aam Aadmi Party and its national convener Arvind Kejriwal, Tiwari said claims that pollution had worsened under the present government were based on political statements.
He said pollution levels should be judged through measurable data and not through political statements, adding that air quality readings are publicly available.
“AQI is a standard and anyone can check it on their mobile phone. This will not change by someone’s words or by my denial,” he said.
He further added that this year, the AQI has not gone above 415 in any condition, whe
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