Beating the Rhetoric
On 5th December 1952 the residents of London woke up to a particularly hazy morning. The winter had set in and yet there was something differnt about that day. The air was filled with smog and haze making it almost impossible for the people to breathe. It stayed the same for the next four days. Government reports suggested that during those four days close to four thousand people had died of the smog while more than one hundred thousand others were affected severely by the smog. It was termed the ‘Great Smog of London’. And since then never has London woken up to such a dreadul day ever again.
The situation in the capital city of India reminds one of the same hazy days. For the past few years , every winter has brought a brutal challenge and fight to Delhi and its residents. Every year now during the winter a few days of hazy smog invariably sets in. During those few days it becomes impossible to breathe, the air quality deteriotaes and visiblity is reduced. This year around things went so bad that schools had to be closed for a few days because the health hazard undoubtedly affects the children more severely than others. The air quality was extremely poor with measure of particulate matter that is ten times more than the safe levels. The health condition in Delhi has become so precarious that embassy staff of various countries also put forward their concern to the Delhi diplomatic corps.
A number of measures were taken by the government once the pollution had reached dangerous levels.Water was sprayed in central Delhi roads so that road dust particles would come down. Water was also strewn on trees by the fire department so that dust settled would get cleaned away. Construction activities and industrial plants around Delhi were asked to temporarily stop their operations. The government contemplated bringing in the Odd-Even scheme before the National Green Tribunal intervened and the government of Delhi took back that step. During Diwali in 2017 the Supreme Court of the country had also issued a ban on sale of crackers in the NCR region and the air quality undoubtedly had seen an improvement during Diwali this year compared to the past three years. Yet these activties must be seen as stop gap measures and more reactionary in nature. To solve the long standing problem of air pollution in Delhi a larger framework and strategy is required.
So what is the reason and why does Delhi encounter the trouble of smog every winter.Climate change and global warming have undoubtedly become the fulcrum for this change. Yet at a micro level the reasons could be broken down to far smaller reasons. Once the problem is broken down to a micro level maybe the solutions are easier to forge. Air pollution in Delhi can be broken down to the presence of PM 2.5 and PM 10 particles or particulate matters that are present in the air. These particulate matters enter the human body through the air one breathes, and causes problems to the respiratory tracts which might also lead to loss of human life. The reason for the particulate matters are road dust, dust from construction activities, and vehicle emissions among other reasons. Stubble burning in areas nearby Delhi and dust strom from across the borders –including from the Middle East- further complicates the issue of pollution and its control in India.
Thus from the causal point of view it is perhaps clear that vehicles and vehicular emission are not the sole reason for smog and pollution. The causes are multi-faceted hence any attempt to combat the same should be multi-pronged and long term strategies. During this year the Delhi government had formulated a strategy. The Graded Action Plan was developed as a plan to combat air pollution in winter. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) would monitor air quality from various stations located across Delhi-NCR. Daily reports would be sent to the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA), the implementing authority of the plan, which will take a decision on the future course of action. Each level of danger warning would kick in a new higher elevated response from the government. Though it had its faults yet it was indeed laudable that for the first time agencies showed intent of a plan that was targetted towards prevention rather than reaction.
The action points included shutting down construction activities, banning entry of trucks and heavy motor vehicles into Delhi, closing down the industrial plants in Badarpur among others. In fact by 2018 the plans in Badarpur for example would close down permanently. While these steps are laudable they have shown that they are not adequate to address air pollution in Delhi. One of the first things the government must do is increase public transportation. Delhi today needs more than 10,000 buses and the government fleet is far below that threshold. There is an immediate need to increase the number of buses, to increases the reach of metro transport and other legislations like further encouragement of electric vehicles among others. The government’s decision to pre-pone the implementation of vehicles with Bharat VI is a welcome step in this regard.
The second major step that can be taken in this regard is change in the way we envision urban planning. Road dust often comes from roads are not properly built and gravel remains. There is an urgent need to address infrastructural issues regarding the same. There must also be stricter urban planning norms in terms of how industrial and residential areas are segregated and new ways such as building green walls around industrial areas. Innovative measures such as green vertical walls around buildings have also proved successful and should be replicated across the country and made a major component of urban planning and design.
The third step is undoubtedly the repeated larger benfits of devloping a green consciousness. Children must be encouraged to plant trees, urban afforestion must be taken up in an expediate manner and the scope and limit of such programs must be expanded. Trees naturally suck up the carbon present in the air and would undoubtedly help towards improving the oxygen quality in the air. Hence awareness about the same must be propagated at an even more vociferous intensity. The lessons from Delhi must not be limited to Delhi alone and must be read and reread across the country. Air pollution is an environmental hazard and it is here to stay unless we find ways to combat it.
(Views expressed are personal)