📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / News18 Punjab/Haryana/Himachal
Politics
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann slams Centre over Delhi’s worsening air pollution
✍️ India Today
🗓 13 Nov 2026, 08:16 PM
👁 17
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann accused the central government of unfairly blaming Punjab for Delhi’s smog and called for coordinated action to tackle the capital’s air quality crisis.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday publicly rebuked the Union government for repeatedly pointing to Punjab as the main source of Delhi’s deteriorating air quality. Mann asserted that the blame placed on Punjab is disproportionate and diverts attention from the multiple factors contributing to the capital’s smog, including vehicular emissions, construction dust and seasonal crop residue burning across several states.
In a press interaction in Delhi, Mann urged the Centre to adopt a collaborative approach, emphasizing that effective mitigation requires coordinated policies, real‑time monitoring and joint enforcement across state boundaries. He highlighted recent data showing that pollutants originate from a broader geographic area, not solely from Punjab’s agricultural practices.
The CM also called for an immediate review of the existing air‑quality management framework, suggesting that the central government allocate additional resources for cleaner technologies and stricter enforcement of existing norms. He warned that continued politicisation of the issue could hamper urgent remedial measures needed to protect public health.
Mann’s remarks come as Delhi grapples with another episode of hazardous air quality, prompting schools to remain closed and hospitals to report a surge in respiratory cases. The Centre has previously announced a multi‑pronged action plan, but the Punjab chief minister’s statements underscore lingering tensions over responsibility and implementation.
Stakeholders from the environment ministry and state pollution control boards are expected to meet later this week to discuss a unified strategy, though no concrete timeline has been announced yet.
In a press interaction in Delhi, Mann urged the Centre to adopt a collaborative approach, emphasizing that effective mitigation requires coordinated policies, real‑time monitoring and joint enforcement across state boundaries. He highlighted recent data showing that pollutants originate from a broader geographic area, not solely from Punjab’s agricultural practices.
The CM also called for an immediate review of the existing air‑quality management framework, suggesting that the central government allocate additional resources for cleaner technologies and stricter enforcement of existing norms. He warned that continued politicisation of the issue could hamper urgent remedial measures needed to protect public health.
Mann’s remarks come as Delhi grapples with another episode of hazardous air quality, prompting schools to remain closed and hospitals to report a surge in respiratory cases. The Centre has previously announced a multi‑pronged action plan, but the Punjab chief minister’s statements underscore lingering tensions over responsibility and implementation.
Stakeholders from the environment ministry and state pollution control boards are expected to meet later this week to discuss a unified strategy, though no concrete timeline has been announced yet.