Javadekar does a U-turn, says report stating 80 people die in Delhi due to pollution was wrong

New Delhi: Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar seems to have done a U-turn after telling parliament on Thursday that air pollution in Delhi is killing around 80 people everyday. Javadekar now says that those figures are wrong and the threat is exaggerated.

In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, Javadekar had said that polluted air, particularly the respirable particulate matter was one of the several factors responsible for morbidity and premature deaths.

He had cited two studies commissioned by the Centre to make the assertion on Thursday. Earlier in April, the government had announced a three-month action plan to combat pollution in Delhi.