Haryana's Environment Minister Rao Narbir Singh has openly acknowledged that the air quality index monitoring machines installed in the state are not showing the real pollution levels.
Speaking at a public event in Gurugram this week, he said that most devices cannot display readings beyond 500 AQI, even when the actual pollution may be far higher. Citing an example, he mentioned a report of 1,900 AQI from Pakistan's Lahore and questioned why similar figures never appear in Gurugram.
The answer he received: "Our machines are only capable of showing up to 500."
Expressing deep concern, the minister claimed that living in Gurugram has "reduced his lifespan by 10 years," and warned that the impact on young children could be far more severe in the coming decades.
He compared Gurugram's pollution to his recent experience in the Madhubani district of Bihar, where he was on election duty and found the AQI to be just 15 - a level that reminded him of the clear blue skies of his childhood.
Singh also admitted that he failed to deliver on his flagship promise of making Gurugram polythene-free within three months. "I haven't been able to reduce it even by one per cent, and I won't be able to," he said.
Despite a government ban on manufacturing and selling polythene in Haryana, he noted that bags are available everywhere - from small roadside stalls to major malls. The minister estimated that about 40% of the region's pollution comes from polythene waste, which takes nearly 450 years to decompose, affecting up to 18 future generations.
He further revealed that almost 100 locations in Gurugram see daily burning of polythene waste, releasing toxic black smoke that lingers in the air and severely deteriorates air quality.
Concluding his remarks, the minister emphasized that government action alone cannot solve the crisis. A polythene-free Gurugram, he said, is impossible without active public participation.
