Only Delhi Minister Answers Centre's Call, 4 States Skip Pollution Meet

With air pollution levels in Delhi and adjoining areas falling in the "very poor" category, Union Environment Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan called a meeting of the environment ministers of five north Indian states today. However, only Delhi minister Imran Hussain showed up. The environment ministers of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh decided to skip the meeting and chose to send bureaucrats instead. At the meeting, Dr Harsh Vardhan said that steps being taken by Punjab and Haryana to control stubble-burning are "far from satisfactory". But the ministers of the two states weren't there to listen to him.