The Delhi government is in the process of identifying and setting up around 20 to 30 picnic spots in the city for more people to go out at spend quality time, Minister Ashish Sood said on Thursday at India TV's 'Pollution ka Solution' conclave. He added that these spots would be constructed at par with popular sites such as the India Gate and Kartavya Path.
Elaborating on the advantages of having such spots in the national capital, he said this would also lead to reduction in electricity consumption and power saving as people would step out of their homes more often.
"A lot of people visit India Gate and Kartavya Path for leisure time, and the Delhi government has identified 20-30 spots in the city and develop them similar way for people to roam freely and spend quality time. We will also ensure safety and police presence at these sites to ensure visitors' can roam around without any worry," he added.
Sood said the project is in its initial stage but work is on rid those areas of pollution and turn the into picnic spots for the people.
On AQI manipulation allegations
Reacting to the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) allegations of pollution data manipulation by the government, Sood hit back saying the AAP is spent force and despite having 20-30 MLAs they are unable to manage to bring a crowd of 2,000 people with them to start a movement.
"What AAP says is relevant and their leaders have proven to be insufficient," he said.
He showed a CAG report which stated that the AQI measuring devices were put up in open fields by the previous regime to manipulate the data on air pollution.
Speaking on sanitation in Delhi, Sood said their government has raised the wages of cleanliness workers which is why there has not been a single strike by them in the past 11 months, whereas such instances were very frequent during the Arvind Kejriwal's tenure.
"The Aam Aadmi Party can raise questions on us, but we are ready to answer them with utmost attention and facts," he added.
Also read: 'Committed to tackling Delhi’s toxic air issue,' says CM Rekha Gupta