Delhi needs to keep its house in order

Vibha Sharma in New Delhi

Things appear normal now: a government study has blamed the “multi-day dust storm” in the Middle East and accompanying weather conditions for the bad air quality back home. The NGT has lifted a ban on construction activities and toxic-pollutant spewing trucks, although the ban on industrial activities causing pollution remains.

There is still no consensus between the Delhi government and the NGT on the odd-even vehicular traffic rationing formula. There are also reports how the Kejriwal government was sitting on an unutilized “green tax” meant for augmenting public transport. To Punjab CM Amarinder Singh’s demand for an extra subsidy to deal with paddy stubble, Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh has reminded him of unutilized Central allocations lying with him for the purpose.

As politicians squabbled, Haryana and Punjab appeared accept their share to Delhi’s health emergency. Its representatives told the newly formed Central environment committee that “stubble burning in both states was over and in the medium term, further problems because of that may not arise.”

Stubble burning may be seasonal and wind speed may have increased, but pollution caused by vehicular traffic, construction, domestic and industrial activities and road dust remains.

Environmentalists claim no one is really serious about air pollution. The proof is the fate of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) approved by the Supreme Court last year. On Nov 8, when Environment Protection Control Authority (EPCA) — a Central government constituted committee for NCR — imposed ‘severe plus’ conditions amounting to public health emergency, it directed governments to stop entry of trucks and construction across NCR.

On November 9, the Central Pollution Control Board told the EPCA that pollution levels were coming down leading to better days ahead.

The fact is even though air pollution kills lakhs of Indians every year, it is an issue that is discussed only when the problem becomes too glaring to ignore. Studies suggest that as much as 38% of Delhi’s particulate air pollution is contributed by road dust, 20% by vehicles, 12% by domestic sources and 15% by industrial pollution.

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE, an NGO) has cautioned against temporary solutions and advocated long-term measures such as massive augmentation of public transport. Since 2013, bus ridership has been declining at an average rate of 9% per annum, it says. It also recommends a complete ban on polluting fuels.