Taking the responsibility of saving Delhi’s breath, the Lok Sansad held under the leadership of DPCC President Shri Devender Yadav discussed solutions through dialogue on pollution.
While pollution, traffic jams and social inequalities are interlinked, free or affordable public transport should be implemented in Delhi to reduce pollution, which is an essential requirement of public health and climate protection. – Devender Yadav
New Delhi, December 29, 2025 Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) President Shri Devender Yadav said that the BJP government at the Centre did not allow the opposition to have a detailed discussion on pollution in Parliament and similarly Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta did not even call an all-party meeting on pollution. He said that while government avoided a discussion on severe air pollution, Delhi congress held a detailed discussion with environmentalists and conscious sections of the society including teachers of Delhi University, doctors of cancer, asthma, gynecologists, office bearers of RWA, students, advocates, social workers, safai karamcharis, security personnel etc. who can give important suggestions for clean air and cleanliness at the Western Court, Janpath in the Capital. Advocate Sunil Kumar coordinated the programme.
Shri Devender Yadav said that after due deliberations and discussions on pollution in the Lok Sansad, Congress will compile a detailed suggestion paper on solutions to Delhi’s pollution and present it to the government and various sections of the society so that the people of Delhi can breathe clean air under a safe environment. “We have also sought suggestions from the people of Delhi on pollution”.
While discussing the ill effects of pollution in Delhi and the solutions for pollution control DPCC president Shri Devender Yadav, environmentalists Shri Vimlendu Jha and Dr. Jitendra Nagar also gave some important suggestions to the Delhi government on pollution control as the responsibility of giving a healthy life to the people of Delhi lies with the government.
Addressing the Lok Sansad, Shri Devender Yadav said that our idea behind organizing the Samvad Se Samadhan programme was to discuss the burning issue of severe air pollution as the Central Government as well as the Rekha Gupta Government of BJP in Delhi have so far failed to find a practical and permanent solution to the problem of hazardous pollution. Shri Yadav said that in the recently concluded winter session of Parliament, despite the demand of the entire opposition, including the Congress, the BJP government refused to discuss an important issue like pollution. “We have also demanded an all-party meeting in Delhi on pollution so that the opposition can also present suggestions on ways and solutions to control pollution in Delhi, but Chief Minister Rekha Gupta did not pay any heed to our demand, while the people of Delhi, who are constantly troubled by dangerous pollution levels up to 400-500 AQI, are suffering from respiratory distress,” he said.
Shri Devender Yadav said that this Lok Sansad has been organized to present a solution to the problem of pollution in consultation with various stake holders while focusing on the poor and crumbling infrastructure of Delhi. All the participants present in the Lok Sansad expressed their concern over pollution Delhi. They also raised some questions and gave their suggestions.
Shri Devender Yadav suggested that all public transport should be made free or affordable to all passenger. He cited example of Luxembourg, Tennin, Washington, USA etc., and said that the biggest cause of air pollution is vehicular fumes, which has become a serious and emergency situation today. He said that keeping in mind the health of the people, the government should immediately implement this policy. He said that the real-time source analysis data of the Decision Support System developed by IIT makes it clear that vehicles contribute the highest share in Delhi’s air pollution. Vehicles contribute 51-53 per cent of the local PM2.5 pollution in Delhi during winter. Also, the proportion of locally generated pollution has increased from 27.3 percent in 2024 to about 35 per cent in 2025, while the contribution of pollution coming from adjoining NCR districts has reduced from 36 per cent in 2023 to 25.8 per cent in 2025. These figures clearly show that Delhi’s air pollution is now mainly local and on account of vehicular pollution.
Shri Devender Yadav said that it is evident from international experiences that promoting public transport leads to a significant shift from private vehicles to public transport, thereby reducing fuel consumption and emissions. It strengthens social equality and improves access of all sections to employment and essential services. He said that fare-free public transport is being adopted across the world to tackle serious challenges like rising air pollution, traffic congestion, unequal access to commute and increasing domestic transportation costs. In a city like Delhi, where pollution, traffic jams and social inequalities are interlinked, free or affordable public transport is not just a welfare scheme, but an imperative need for public health and climate protection.
