The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday (November 11, 2026) visited Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) office in Delhi to complain against alleged “manipulation” of AQI (Air Quality Index) data, including spraying water on monitoring stations to suppress readings and installing them in green areas.
The CAQM later at night, said in a statement that it “welcomes” suggestions regarding improvement in air quality from all and takes suitable action by constructively engaging all the stakeholders. “The Member Secretary, and Members(Technical), CAQM met a delegation of Aam Aadmi Party at the CAQM office today and heard their concerns and grievances regarding air pollution issues in Delhi,” the post said.
AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed that the CAQM had acknowledged that spraying water on monitoring stations was wrong and assured action against the responsible Delhi government officials. “CAQM also said the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) would replace its equipment to prevent data blackouts. Bharadwaj said AAP would meet CAQM again if no action was taken within a week,” he said.
But the CAQM statement was silent on any promises made to the AAP or the latter’s claims.
On Tuesday (November 10, 2026), the CPCB had said that peak values of air pollution was missing on Deepavali night as the CPCB considers PM (particulate matter) values only up to 1,000 µg/m³ for calculation of the AQI and this was the reason behind the missing data, as the actual values went beyond it.
Published – November 12, 2026 04:34 am IST
