Delhi pollution: Amarinder Singh calls Arvind Kejriwal ‘a peculiar person’, writes to PM Modi for intervention

Delhi pollution: Punjab CM Amarinder Singh (File)

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to convene a meeting of CMs of states affected by pollution. “Have requested PM to convene meeting of CMs of affected States along with Union Ministers. Just my meeting with Delhi CM resolves nothing,” said Singh. He also sought compensation for farmers  for crop residue management to check the dangerous trend of stubble burning.

He also also took a potshot at Arvind Kejriwal, terming him as a “peculiar person who has views on everything without understanding the situation”. “Mr Kejriwal is a peculiar person who has views on everything without understanding the situation. There is 20 million ton of paddy straw, where do I ask farmers to store? So Mr Kejriwal doesn’t understand this problem,” said the chief minister. Earlier on Wednesday, Kejriwal and Singh sparred on twitter over dangerous pollution levels due to stubble burning.

With the Delhi air quality dipping to dangerous levels and burning of paddy stubble in neighbouring states contributing to smog in the city, Kejriwal had sought an urgent meeting with Punjab counterpart Captain Amarinder Singh. He said a solution to smog can be found if the Centre, along with governments in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana put politics aside and work together, adding that the situation in the NCR will not improve until state governments find economically viable solutions to crop burning. The government has also decided to bring back its ‘odd-even’ vehicle policy from November 13 to 17.

Meanwhile, in view of ‘life-threatening’ pollution levels in the Delhi NCR region, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday sent notices to the Centre and the governments of Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. The NHRC also pulled up authorities for not taking proper steps to tackle the “hazard”, amounting to a violation of the right to life and health.