Overview
- AAP Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj shared a video showing Municipal Corporation of Delhi tankers spraying water around sensors at the Anand Vihar/ISBT monitoring site and called it “data management, not pollution control.”
- AAP leaders accused the BJP of running a “pollution data fraud,” alleging trucks circled the station and sprayed continuously to make AQI readings appear lower.
- An unnamed state official said sprinkling is a routine citywide dust-control measure, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa dismissed the charge as politically motivated, and the MCD mayor said watering has been ongoing across locations since last month.
- Indian Express analysis of CPCB data showed PM10 at Anand Vihar plunged from 736 µg/m³ to 221 µg/m³ around midday before rebounding in the afternoon, a pattern an air-quality analyst said resembles temporary suppression seen after rainfall.
- Despite the watering, Anand Vihar recorded a ‘severe’ AQI of 431 at 9 pm, the city’s average AQI was 292 (‘poor’), and no independent inquiry or regulatory action had been reported.