"11 years of AAP responsible for Delhi air situation": LG VK Saxena writes scathing letter to Kejriwal

New Delhi [India], December 23 : Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Tuesday wrote a 15-page letter to former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, holding him and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led government responsible for Delhi's deteriorating air quality and lack of new infrastructure and facilities.
The AQI reading soared to 413 at around 8 am.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), air quality in certain areas of the National Capital Region (NCR) spiked to 'severe' levels. Multiple parts of the city continued to witness alarmingly high pollution
"In the 11 years you have been being Chief Minister, you have finished each and every norm of political, constitutional, and democratic institutions," LG Saxena wrote in the letter.
Writing about an incident involving the former Chief Minister, LG Saxena said he had asked Kejriwal about the pollution, and the concerns were dismissed as an issue that is raised every year but forgotten later.
According to the LG, Kejriwal told him, "Sir, this happens every year. The media raises it for 15-20 days. Activists and the courts make it an issue, and then everyone forgets. You too should not pay much attention to it."
Alleging multiple other lapses in governance, LG Saxena also criticised the lack of new hospitals, schools, or infrastructure during Kejriwal's tenure.
"You had promised 500 new schools, but almost nothing was made. Also, school toilets were counted as classrooms to make the numbers look better," the LG wrote.
"Your government, in 11 years, have not made any new hospitals in Delhi. In the last 5 years, you had promised to increase the bed capacity, but that work was also not done by you. Looking at certain media reports, you did not have the 600 crore rupees needed to do this. But in the same five years, you had spent 2,500 crore rupees on advertisements," he added.
In turn, it was the centrally funded schemes which could have helped Delhi, with the expansion of AIIMS, IIT Delhi, developing the metro, UER, GPRA colony, underpasses, and overbridges, but the Kejriwal-led government did not give tree-cutting/transplantation permissions for such projects for a long time.
"The central government funded schemes, which are beneficial for the people, like Expansion of AIIMS, IIT Delhi, Development of Metro, UER, GPRA Colony, RRTS, Underpass, Over Bridge, but you did not give permission for tree cutting/transplantation, and stalled those for 5 years without reason," he said.
The Governor also pointed to the lapses in the excise policy, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India's reports, which pointed to mismanagement, neglect of the bus services, among multiple other problems under the AAP government.
LG Saxena claimed that after losing elections, Kejriwal did not come to meet him, and when the Governor tried to send him greetings on Diwali, it was found out that Kejriwal had blocked the Governor's number.
"I could have said all this on the phone or by meeting you too, but after losing elections, you never came to meet me and went to Punjab instead. When I tried to phone you, I could not get in contact, and when I sent you wishes on Diwali on your phone, I got to know that my number has been blocked by you," he said.
Meanwhile, in Delhi, CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management) has invoked all actions under GRAP Stage-IV in Delhi-NCR, including deploying truck-mounted water sprinklers.
Several pollution hotspots included Anand Vihar (466), Chandni Chowk (425), and Ashok Vihar (444), also falling under the 'severe' category across large swathes of the national capital.