Delhi Records First 'Severe' Air Quality Day In 2025; AAP And BJP Trade Blows

Last Updated:November 11, 2025, 19:11 IST

As the national capital continues to gasp under a thick layer of smog, a war of words erupted between BJP and AAP over the government’s handling of the pollution crisis.

Delhi’s Air Quality Index remains in the “severe” category

Delhi-NCR’s air quality on Tuesday slipped into the ‘severe’ category, prompting the Centre to invoke stricter anti-pollution measures under Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). As the national capital continues to gasp under a thick layer of smog, a war of words erupted between BJP and AAP over the government’s handling of the pollution crisis and air quality monitoring in the national capital.

AAP Alleges BJP Manipulating AQI Readings

Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Rekha Gupta-led Delhi government and accused it of “manipulating AQI readings" and “failing to protect citizens’ health."

Bharadwaj claimed that the NCT government is continuously sprinkling water just on the top of the AQI monitoring stations to alter the readings.

“After the government stooped so low that they shut down AQI monitoring stations fearing hazardous levels, they are now sprinkling water just on top of those stations. Still, if the manipulated AQI is touching 400–450, that means it’s an emergency situation. We should declare a health emergency in Delhi. Schools are still open, children and the elderly are being exposed to this pollution. The government is pulling the biggest fraud against its own people," he said as quoted by news agency ANI.

BJP Hits Back At AAP

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa soon countered Bharadwaj allegations and intensified the political blame game, reminding AAP of its decade-long rule in the capital and claiming that the current administration under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had taken tangible steps to fight pollution.

“… The Aam Aadmi Party was in power for 10 years, and the pollution figures were continuously increasing. In the last 7-8 months, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s government has done several such works that have directly helped in reducing pollution in Delhi, such as introducing electric buses in Delhi… steps have been taken to clean Yamuna Ji… we are continuously working, the government has repaired all its roads and infrastructure, continuous water sprinkling is being done to reduce dust in Delhi… we are continuously striving to give Delhi clean air," he said as quoted by the news agency.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Gupta addressed the controversy surrounding missing AQI readings, clarifying that the temporary disruption was a technical glitch at the national level.

“I received reports that air quality readings weren’t available for a few hours. It wasn’t Delhi’s fault—it was an all-India issue," Gupta said. “Delhi’s data was fully functional. We assure citizens that the government is vigilant and taking every possible measure," she added.

She also chaired a high-level meeting at the Delhi Secretariat to review the city’s air quality situation.

Following the meeting, Delhi Minister Ashish Sood said discussions were held on multiple pollution sources including stubble burning, vehicular emissions, and dust pollution.

“… The factors responsible for pollution in Delhi are stubble burning in the neighbouring states, incidents occurring in the neighbouring states and climate change. Along with this, Delhi’s dust pollution and vehicle traffic—detailed discussions were held in the meeting on all these subjects. Our government is committed to stopping pollution in the coming times….Along with the implementation of GRAP III, there is a provision for hybrid learning in primary classes; immediate action will be taken on this," he said.

Delhi Enforces Grap-3

Delhi-NCR’s air quality on Tuesday slipped into the ‘severe’ category, prompting the Centre to invoke stricter anti-pollution measures under Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

The decision was taken after Delhi’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) rose sharply from 362 on Monday to 425 on Tuesday.

The implementation of Stage III curbs, which include a ban on non-essential construction work and closure of stone crushers and mining activities, is in addition to the actions already enforced under Stages I and II of GRAP.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’ and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.

(With inputs from agencies)

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