Since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took power in Delhi in 2015, Rs 93 lakh has been spent by the Delhi government from the environment cess, which is 0.12 per cent.
"Around 787,12,67,000 has been received. But only a few lakhs have been spent," said RTI activist Sanjeev Jain.
The vast unutilised component has been held up by AAP's critics as sign that its statements on tackling pollution are mainly bluster.
Last week, thick smog settled on Delhi, leaving residents complaining of breathlessness, smarting eyes and dizziness, and triggering emergency measures like the shutting of schools. The Kejriwal government blamed neighbouring Punjab and Haryana for farm fires in which farmers burn crop residue or stubble.
Chief Minister Kejriwal met his Haryana counterpart ML Khattar today for a meeting that was preceded by much back-and-forth in public. "We agreed upon the need for action on many measures aimed at predicting its re-occurrence in the winter of 2018," the two leaders said in a statement.
The thick cloud of toxic smog, 10 times the recommended limit, has been blamed on a combination of construction dust, vehicle exhaust and illegal crop burning
The AAP government was questioned yesterday on its plan to introduce the odd-even rule in Delhi by the National Green Tribunal, which questioned why the government had not added more buses in the city. The plan is on hold as the government has failed to convince the green court to agree to exemptions granted to women and two-wheelers.
Today, AAP leaders said the environment cess would be used to buy electric buses.
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