The fight against air pollution took a strange turn this week as Delhi banned the use of tandoors and asked civic bodies in inspect eateries. Stringent curbs were enacted across the national capital region last week as air quality turned ‘severe plus’ in many areas. A dense blanket of toxic smog continues to enveloped the city — severely reducing visibility, affecting flights and causing strong discomfort for residents.
The tandoor ban was announced by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee last week and affects all hotels, restaurants and open eateries using coal and firewood to run their ovens. The directive requires all outlets to begin using electric or gas-based tandoors with immediate effect. Officials confirmed that the rule had been listed under GRAP measures to reduce emissions during high-pollution phases.
The DPCC noted that Delhi continues to record Air Quality Index levels above prescribed standards, and coal-based cooking remains a significant contributor to localised pollution. The directions follow earlier mandates under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which list the ban on coal and firewood use in tandoors as a stage-I action to curb emissions.
”Like removing bicycles to reduce traffic’
The decision had prompted sharp criticism on social media — with many lamenting the ‘loss’ of tandoori roti and other food staples. Others wondered if separate plans were in the works to ban incense sticks and cigarettes.
“Banning Tandoor to reduce air pollution is like banning bicycles to reduce traffic jam,” wrote one influential X user.
“Breaking: Delhi BJP government takes immediate action to control Delhi AQI, Bans Tandoor across hotels. No this is not a joke, this actually happened,” jibed another.
“What happened to tradition? Isn’t tandoor older than firecrackers during diwali?” asked one Reddit user.
Delhi govt blames AAP
The developments came even as Delhi Environmental Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa laid the blame squarely on the previous Aam Aadmi Party government. He insisted on Tuesday that it would take some time to ‘fix’ the situation and assured that the BJP administration was doing “better work” to address air pollution. He revealed that the Delhi government had also decided that vehicles would not be allowed to refuel in the city unless they held a valid pollution control certificate.
“It is impossible for any elected government to reduce AQI in 9-10 months. I apologise for the pollution in Delhi. We are doing better work than the dishonest AAP government, and we have reduced AQI each day. This disease of pollution is given to us by the Aam Aadmi Party, and we are working to fix it,” he said.