Tiwari demands all-party meeting to tackle pollution

  New Delhi: With Delhi's air quality remaining in the 'severe' category for the last three days, city BJP chief Manoj Tiwari on Monday demanded Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to call an all-party meeting to find a solution to the recurring crisis.

He wondered why the Chief Minister was not calling a special session of the Assembly when he often does so for any "private or external" issue not related to Delhi. 

Taking a dig at the Chief Minister, Tiwari tweeted in Hindi, "Arvind Kejriwal ji (are) you still the CM? Why don't you call an all-party meeting and a special session of the Delhi Assembly. Do you want us to believe that you cannot do it (sic)." 

The city is facing its highest pollution level since Diwali. While the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed the overall air quality index (AQI) in the 'severe' category at 448, the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR) showed an AQI of 468.

The 'severe' quality of air was attributed to wind speed and other meteorological factors remaining "highly unfavourable" for dispersion of pollutants. Tiwari, who has promised to donate Rs 1.1 lakh to AAP if Arvind Kejriwal calls an all-party meeting over poor air quality in the capital, said pollution is not a political issue and all should try to solve it.

The Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) on Monday imposed a three-day ban on industrial activities in pollution hot-spots and construction work across the national capital region.