Open Forum

New Delhi, 19 October 2022 

Mitigating Air Pollution

REVIEW, STRICT ACTION VITAL

By Dhurjati Mukherjee

The Centre recently revised the target of reducing air pollution (PM concentrations) in cities from 20-30 percent by 2024 to 40 percent by 2025-26 compared to the levels set in 2017. Though a 40 percent reduction in PM concentrations over 2017 levels still wouldn’t make air quality reach acceptable limits in Delhi and other NCR cities – Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow and Kanpur – the revised target may at least prompt the respective States to take more serious steps through city-based action plans under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).

Revising air pollution reduction target for Indian cities to 40 percent by 2025-26 s, the Union Environment Ministry said the final goal was to bring particulate matter concentrations within acceptable limits everywhere. Its recent analysis of cities under NCAP showed 20 cities including Chennai, Madurai, Nashik and Chittur have been conformed to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), that put acceptable annual average limit of PM 10 at 60 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3). The analysis, however, remained silent on the more hazardous PM 2.5 as its monitoring is not done in all NCAP cities.

However, it is understood that cities are annually based on different actions taken for improving air quality, solid waste management, road dust management, management of construction and demolition waste, control of vehicular emissions and industrial pollution. This was needed as most of the cities were not found to conform to NAAQS though government intervention has shown positive results.

The encouraging news is the launch of India’s first flex-fuel hybrid car (FFV-SHEV) in the country that can run on 100 percent ethanol. The vehicle was launched as a pilot to assess the BS-VI compliant FF-SHEV technology in India; its effectiveness in domestic conditions in reducing carbon emission and for promoting ethanol as a vehicle fuel.

A recent report published by US-based research organisation Health Effects Institute (HEI), report – Air Quality and Health in Cities, one finds a comprehensive and detailed analysis of air pollution and global health effects for over 7000 cities around the world, focusing on two of the most harmful pollutants – fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Even though nitrogen pollution is not a great problem in India, PM 2.5 remains the biggest in Indian cities. Of the 7239 cities, India is home to 18 of the 20 cities with a severe increase in PM 2.5 count from 2000 to 2019.

Kolkata ranks eighth among the most populous cities in the world related to the highest PM 2.5 related disease burden in 2019. It recorded 99 deaths for every lakh citizens exposed to such pollution. Delhi is ahead of Kolkata both in terms of exposure to PM 2.5 as in both these cities, the smog during winter months is quite severe.

In tackling air pollution, perhaps it’s worthwhile which to consider going back to the Air Act which was elemental to developing the framework the country uses today for pollution control. It outlined various mechanisms through which authorities could monitor pollutant concentrations, progress made on actions enforces, standards for emitters, clean air plans, enforcement schemes, etc. By 1984, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) set out its nationwide monitoring programme -- National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring (NAAQM), aimed at monitoring pollutant concentration. In the year of enforcement, this was only executed in 7 monitoring stations but has since been named as the National Air Monitoring Program (NAMP), operating in over 800 stations located across 344 cities in the country. 

Even though the act has clearly brought in stricter forms of regulation and legislation in the country in terms of environmental protection, keeping in view the urbanization trend, the increase in density of population, the generation of solid waste etc, some expertsconclude that this is not enough. There is need for further make amends in the realm of air pollution control keeping in view the country’s growing needs and demands. The are several downfalls  to the Act, which need to be critically analysed:

Firstly, the Act relies on criminal prosecution of polluting actors as the enforcement tool, which is a time-consuming process often leading to low conviction rates and PCB’s lower capacity to pursue such cases making it easier for polluting actors to get away with their activities. Secondly, there is a need to update it and evolve a methodology for green financing or addressing the needs for raising capacity in air quality management tasks or actions remains unresolved.

According to environmentalists, the third aspect is that the Act in its present form is somewhat inadequate to provide rightful opportunities, training, or resources to those who are on the pollution control board; these should not be a hindrance to tackle air pollution strictly. Fourthly, new scientific developments and innovations need to be incorporated in the Act so that State’s authorities could utilise these new resources to meet their objectives in the best manner possible; and finally, lack of strict monitoring wherein, responsible of polluting the air rruption should not be allowed to go scot-free.

This apart, the Act fails to integrate social and human health into consideration for the objective, and therefore provides a restricted view of what air pollution is and why it needs to be addressed. Moreover, it is important to control vehicular pollution, possibly contributing majorly to air pollution. Weeding out old vehicles, strictly monitoring pollution check and encouraging use of electric vehicles needs to be taken up seriously.

Do note that seven years after the Paris climate summit, solar and wind energy have become cheaper while electric vehicles may also get cheaper than petrol in not-too-distant future. However, regulating vehicles, specially those running on diesel and ensuring their emissions are within permissible limits needs strictmonitoring, particularly in the metros.

Various acknowledgedstudies have also noted air pollution has a huge effect on the lower segments of society, who live in slums, squatter settlements, beside railway tracks etc. as they are more exposed to emissions than those who live in houses or apartments. In fact, in all types of pollution, the poor and the marginalised sections are most affected, leading to various types of diseases.  

The obvious answer to mitigating air pollution is through promoting urban forestry proactively and taking strict action against those cutting or destroying trees. In congested metros, vehicular pollution must be controlled, and any violation of environmental rules must be strictly enforced. It also must be remembered that in a relatively poor country like India, where a large segment of population is poor, the burden of diseases would increase unless air pollution is controlled. The sooner authorities act, the better its is.---INFA

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