New Delhi: Senior AAP leader and Former Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai has warned that the BJP Government’s manipulation of Delhi’s pollution data poses a grave threat to public health, pointing out that the administration is attempting to show cleaner air on paper while the real impact on citizens worsens. The former Delhi Environment Minister said pollution levels are rising even as the government lifts GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) restrictions, a display of sheer arrogance.
Gopal Rai contrasted this with the AAP Government’s approach, stating that earlier administrations sought expert advice and worked on the ground whenever pollution spiked, whereas the current BJP regime is preoccupied with massaging figures instead of protecting the people.
During a media interaction on Thursday, former Delhi Environment Minister and AAP Gujarat Prabhari Gopal Rai said that pollution levels during winters in Delhi remain alarming every year, affecting people across North India. “But this is the first time I am seeing a government focus on data management instead of taking positive steps to control pollution. This trend is extremely dangerous for the public because if someone hides an illness, it will only become more severe,” he said.
The former Delhi Environment Minister said, “The government thinks that by manipulating numbers, they will show reduced pollution. On paper, the pollution may look reduced, but the harmful impact on people’s lives is not decreasing, it is rising,” he said.
Gopal Rai explained that when the AAP Government saw real-time, accurate data showing rising pollution levels, it created urgency. “We felt restless seeing the real numbers and wondered what more we could do. We consulted experts, held discussions with officials, and took action on the ground. But now, since the data itself has been manipulated, neither the BJP ministers feel the need to act, nor does the Chief Minister, nor is there any need felt to speak to experts or initiate emergency measures,” he asserted.
Gopal Rai noted, “This situation that has been created is a humanitarian crime. It is understandable if the BJP Government is unable to control pollution, but the data theft being carried out to hide pollution levels is extremely dangerous.”
He added that the consequences of this negligence are already visible. “Data clearly shows that Delhi has the highest sales of air purifiers, and hospitals are witnessing a steady rise in patients suffering from pollution-related illnesses. This raises a serious question: yesterday the AQI was at a certain level; today pollution levels have risen further. But yesterday, when the level was lower, GRAP-3 was implemented, and today, when pollution has increased, it has been withdrawn,” he said.
“Removing emergency measures when pollution is declining is understandable, but withdrawing them when pollution is rising shows that the BJP Government has been consumed by arrogance. They believe that even if they do nothing, even if people fall sick or suffer, they will still win elections,” Gopal Rai said, calling the present situation in Delhi both extremely dangerous and deeply unfortunate.
