'Suspend Delhi Pollution Panel Chairman Immediately': CM Arvind Kejriwal Writes To L-G After SC Hearing

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recommended the immediate suspension of Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) chairman Ashwani Kumar after Environment Minister Gopal Rai sought his dismissal.

File Photo of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena

Source : PTI

As Delhi grapples with a severe spike in pollution levels, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday recommended the immediate suspension of Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) chairman Ashwani Kumar in a letter sent to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, news agency ANI reported. The decision comes after the Supreme Court addressed the pollution issue earlier in the day and questioned the effectiveness of the Delhi government's odd-even car rationing scheme, which was announced to address the rising pollution levels in the city.

The court observed, "These are all optics, this is the problem," and questioned whether the odd-even scheme had succeeded when implemented earlier, news agency PTI reported. The Supreme Court directed the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan to immediately halt crop residue burning.

Gopal Rai's Letter To CM Kejriwal Seeking Suspension Of DPCC Chief

The decision follows concerns raised by Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai regarding the operation of a large smog tower located in Connaught Place, aimed at mitigating air pollution. 

In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Kejriwal, Minister Gopal Rai cited Kumar's actions as the cause for concern. He accused Kumar of arbitrarily halting the operation of the smog tower, undermining the project's effectiveness, and failing to release funds to the agencies working on the initiative. 

Rai argued that these actions amounted to contempt of the Supreme Court's directions, and he proposed the suspension of Ashwani Kumar and disciplinary action against the project in-charge, Anwar Ali. According to Rai, Anwar Ali's stance on the smog tower's effectiveness changed under pressure from Kumar.

"I would like to propose the suspension and disciplinary action against Ashwani Kumar, Chairman DPCC, for acting in contempt of the Hon'ble Supreme Court's directions, not implementing the council of ministers' decision, arbitrarily halting operations and maintenance payments, failing to make decisions based on the merits of the study and presenting them before the Cabinet, and not reopening the smog tower after the monsoon months, which prevented the formation of clean air zones at a time when pollution levels are expected to rise," Rai wrote, as quoted by PTI.

The smog tower initiative was established in compliance with Supreme Court directives and involved the installation of two smog towers in Delhi, one at Connaught Place under DPCC's purview and the other at Anand Vihar under the Central Pollution Control Board.

The controversy surrounding the suspension of the smog tower project began when Kumar, who took on the role of DPCC chairman in December, stopped the release of funds to agencies, including IIT-Bombay, without informing the government. This decision, according to Rai, was a direct violation of the Supreme Court's orders.

The suspended smog tower in Connaught Place was inaugurated by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on August 23, 2021, with the aim of addressing air pollution concerns. An expert team from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay was assigned to study the impact of the smog tower over a two-year period.

In October, Gopal Rai raised concerns that the DPCC chairman had unilaterally halted a crucial study aimed at determining pollution sources in Delhi. The study, initiated by the Delhi Cabinet and involving a memorandum of understanding with IIT-Kanpur, had its funding halted on the orders of Ashwani Kumar.

The study was intended to determine the sources of pollution in the city, and it had received approval from the Delhi Cabinet in July 2021. A memorandum of understanding with IIT-Kanpur was signed in October 2022, with a total estimated cost exceeding Rs 12 crore. The Delhi government had released Rs 10 crore to IIT-Kanpur to cover the necessary expenses.

However, Ashwani Kumar's reservations about the costs and the study's expenses, expressed after meetings with IIT-Kanpur scientists, led to the suspension of the project, according to Gopal Rai.