Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa has criticized the AAP-led Punjab government for rising farm fires, alleging mismanagement of environmental funds and poor governance while highlighting Delhi's ongoing efforts to curb air pollution effectively.
Sirsa Criticizes AAP Government Leadership
New Delhi [India], November 3 (ANI): Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab Government. He said under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's leadership, Delhi is cleaning its air through year-round action, while AAP's Punjab Government is undoing that work with farm fires, fake data and political appointments, according to the press release.
Minister Sirsa said the AAP Punjab Government has made Reena Gupta, AAP's Delhi spokesperson and a relative of Arvind Kejriwal, Chairperson of the Punjab Pollution Control Board. "An environmental scientist held this post before her. Senior IAS officers and experts held it before that. Yet AAP’s Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann picked a party spokesperson on Kejriwal's signal. A regulator has been turned into a party office that manages narratives," he said. He added that as advisor to Delhi's former AAP Environment Minister, she gave Delhi a smog tower that did not last two years and failed stunts like odd-even. "Delhi is working to clean its air while AAP's Punjab government is burning it down," he added.
Data Disputes and Farm Fire Concerns
Minister Sirsa said Punjab Police's own records expose the farm-fire data. On 28 October, Tarn Taran police alone registered 90 stubble-burning FIRs, while Punjab's official count for the whole state that day was 96 farm fires. Between 24 and 31 October, Tarn Taran recorded 271 FIRs, of which 189 (about 70%) were against farmers for stubble burning. "The farmer asked for machines and support. AAP's Punjab Government gave him FIRs. If the police chased drug traffickers with the same energy, Punjab would truly be Rangla Punjab," he said.
According to Government of India satellite monitoring data (ICAR-IARI), 933 farm fires were recorded under the AAP-led Punjab government in just seven days, from 26 October to 1 November 2026, an average of 133 a day. On Sunday alone, Punjab recorded 175 farm fires, while Haryana recorded 7 and Uttar Pradesh and Delhi recorded none, the release stated.
Funding and Enforcement Issues
The Centre released ₹2,056.50 crore to Punjab under the Crop Residue Management scheme from 2018-19 to 2025-26, and ₹430.87 crore of the ₹592.57 crore earmarked for 2026-27 has already been released. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has sought Utilisation Certificates, which the Punjab Government has failed to provide. "Machines did not reach farmers. Advertisements did," Sirsa said.
According to Central Pollution Control Board bulletins, Delhi recorded 220 days in the Good, Satisfactory or Moderate category up to Monday, already more than the full-year totals of 2024 (209) and 2025 (200), the release said. Since Sunday, Delhi has 50% work from home, staggered office timings, doubled parking charges and a ban on the entry of non-BS-VI vehicles from outside Delhi. AI cameras watch about 700 construction sites, 60 monitoring stations are now running and 500 petrol pumps deny fuel to vehicles without a valid PUC. On day one alone, 14,930 vehicles were checked and ₹68.4 lakh in penalties were imposed, Sirsa said.
Minister Sirsa thanked Delhiites for their support and said, "Punjab's farmers need machines, not FIRs. Delhi needs clean air, not AAP's revenge." (ANI)
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