The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has raised serious concerns over the enforcement of vehicular pollution control measures in the national capital. The report, titled Performance Audit of Prevention and Mitigation of Vehicular Air Pollution, was tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday (April 1), highlighting regulatory lapses and ineffective pollution control initiatives.

According to the report, more than 1.8 lakh unfit vehicles exceeding permissible emission limits were still issued Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates, raising questions about the previous government's commitment to combating air pollution.

Delhi’s Environment Minister, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, criticized the former administration, accusing it of failing to enforce pollution control measures effectively.

“The CAG report has exposed how the previous government jeopardized public health by neglecting environmental regulations. Issuing PUC certificates to unfit vehicles directly contributed to the worsening air quality in Delhi,” Sirsa said in the Assembly.

He further alleged that the previous government indulged in misleading propaganda rather than taking concrete action.

“They repeatedly announced ambitious projects such as monorail, light rail transit, and electric trolley buses, but none of these materialized,” he said.

The report also scrutinized expenditures on pollution control initiatives, stating that Rs 53 crore was spent on the publicity of the odd-even scheme, which failed to deliver any significant reduction in vehicular pollution.

Additionally, it highlighted that Rs 22 crore was spent on constructing a smog tower, which had a negligible impact on air quality improvement.

The findings of the CAG report have reignited the debate over Delhi’s air pollution crisis, with questions being raised about the effectiveness of past policies and the need for stricter enforcement of environmental regulations.