The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday exposed how the BJP government shut down Delhi’s pollution monitors and manipulated data on Diwali night to hide the real Air Quality Index (AQI) levels. AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj pointed out how the government showed AQI readings of 350 when actual levels went beyond 1700, misleading citizens into believing the air was safe.
Calling it “data theft at a government level”, the former Delhi minister asserted the BJP had not only endangered lives but also committed a criminal offence to falsely claim credit for cleaner air. He further slammed a BJP minister for shamefully blaming Punjab’s Sikh farmers for Delhi’s pollution despite data showing over 90% reduction in stubble burning and its contribution to city pollution being less than 1%.
Addressing a press conference senior AAP leader and Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj pointed out, “Today’s Hindi and English newspapers are filled with reports that the BJP government has concealed and manipulated pollution data. As pollution levels began to rise on Diwali night, the government’s pollution monitoring stations mysteriously shut down on their own. How is it possible that multiple stations went offline at the same time?”He elaborated, “Four different institutions were operating various monitoring stations — the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the India Meteorological Department (IMD), and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). Dozens of their stations went offline at night and remained closed until the wind started blowing the next morning. Once the air began to move, these stations were suddenly switched back on. This is blatant dishonesty and data theft — and against whom? Against the people of Delhi.”
Criticising the government’s deception, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “You are cheating the innocent citizens of Delhi, who already suffer from respiratory diseases such as bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, and many others. You are misleading them into believing that the Air Quality Index (AQI) is low. When you announce that the AQI is 320 or 350, people think, ‘Oh, the air can be managed today, we can go for a morning walk, go to work, or send our children to school.’ But in reality, the AQI is far higher — BJP is manipulating it.” Referring to specific cases, he added, “At the Nehru Nagar monitoring station, the reading reached 1763. Soon after, that station was shut down. Newspapers have also reported that while the government’s official reading at Siri Fort showed an AQI of 325, international mobile applications showed 1700. This is a huge difference between. When you remove such high readings — 1700, 1800, 2000 — from the dataset, you automatically lower the daily average AQI, which is calculated from hourly readings. This is done to deceive Delhi’s people and falsely earn praise.”
According to the rules, when the AQI crosses 350, Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) should automatically come into effect, and restrictions should be imposed. Why has the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) not implemented GRAP Stage III yet? These are serious questions. The Supreme Court had directed that pollution data be accurately monitored and reported. If the government has tampered with the data, it has committed contempt of court,” asserted the AAP Delhi chief. Calling it a criminal act, he said, “By hiding the real AQI from the public, the government has committed a criminal offence. You are making people sicker, pushing them to hospitals, even risking their lives — and you do not care. You only want to show that the data has improved. This theft of data by a government is a serious offence.”
