COURTESY HT OCT 14

Punjab has better air than Delhi
PPCB secretary Krunesh Garg says it’s wrong to blame Punjab for poor air quality of the national capital

PPCB officials admitted that the stubble burning is affecting the air quality in the state ht photo

Vishal Rambani

rambani@hindustantimes.com

Patiala : As Delhi’s air quality worsens to “very poor” and the administration there is blaming farm fires in the neighbouring states for it, the fact is that Punjab has much better air quality. Against an air quality index (AQI) of 304 in Delhi, Punjab’s Mandi Gobindgarh—an industrial town—has 175, which falls in the medium category.

“The Delhi’s AQI has worsened, while Punjab air is still comparatively clean. This indicates that stubble burning of Punjab has no role in affecting Delhi air quality. It’s wrong to blame Punjab for poor air quality of the national capital,” said Krunesh Garg, secretary, Punjab Pollution Control Board.

Amritsar, which has recorded highest farm fires in the state, has AQI of 131. Even the other major towns have the AQI below 150.

The average AQI of Delhi is 261 while that of Punjab is 120.

Even the prominent cities of Haryana has much better AQI than Delhi, said a PPCB official monitoring the air quality. “The AQI of Punjab and Haryana should deteriorate too if Delhi’s was affected due to farm fires as being claimed. Farm fires will first affect local air,” he said.

However, PPCB officials admitted that the stubble burning is affecting the air quality in the state. “We have appealed to the farmers to desist from this illegal practice. We are challaning the erring farmers,” he said.

The official said the wind is toward Pakistan and not in the direction of Delhi