Govt manipulating AQI data: AAP; BJP hits back

A war of words broke out on Saturday over the government's plans to install six new continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS), with the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claiming that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trying to manipulate air quality data by installing the stations in "green zones".

- Alok KN Mishra

NEW DELHI: A war of words broke out on Saturday over the government's plans to install six new continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS), with the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claiming that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trying to manipulate air quality data by installing the stations in "green zones".

In response, BJP minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the locations were finalised when the AAP was in power.

HT on Saturday reported that of the six stations, three are proposed to be placed inside lush green campuses — Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in south Delhi, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in south Delhi and Netaji Subhash University (West Campus) in west Delhi.

One station is likely to be installed deep inside the Central Ridge at the ISRO Earth station near Malcha Mahal, and two more in relatively green areas, Delhi cantonment and the Commonwealth Games Sports Complex in east Delhi.

According to experts, these locations may eventually bring the overall average air quality index (AQI) of the city down, thereby providing a lopsided picture of pollution in the city, especially in the winter months.