Delhiites are staring at yet another toxic winter ahead as burning fields in neighbouring states like Haryana and Punjab have sent the air pollution levels in Delhi and satellite towns like Gurugram soaring. The air quality in most parts of the national capital is already into the ‘very poor’ zone and the situation is only likely to worsen as the temperatures dip. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), India’s top pollution watchdog, the quality of air in Delhi- NCR during the week was ‘very poor’. It is expected to remain at the same level or worsen in the days to come.
For several years now, air pollution levels have been a major worry in Delhi, which comes to resemble a gas chamber in the winters. There has been a series of court cases against air pollution resulting in series of directions for states to take mitigating steps. The authorities have also come out with several plans to check pollution.
For instance, there is now a comprehensive action plan of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, a plan proposed by the NITI Aayog, measures suggested by the National Green Tribunal and a graded response action plan prepared under the direct guidance of the Supreme Court and environment experts.
However, what is lacking is the will to strictly implement these plans and measures. Also, some of these steps — especially putting a check on paddy stubble burning by farmers after the monsoon — will require close coordination among various states, which is easier said than done.Experts believe the government is neither addressing the demands of farmers to stop them from stubble burning nor is it finalising the National Clean Air Plan to tackle pollution in other cities likely to face a similar situation in future.
Agriculture expert Devinder Sharma says that pushing technology is not the solution to stubble burning as it will only help a few companies manufacturing these machines. The happy seeder technology propagated by the authorities as a solution to check stubble burning involves buying several other equipments and small farmers and landowners will not be able to purchase it, he says.
“Punjab and Haryana farmers have been demanding monetary compensation to stop stubble burning and they should be provided the same. Everyone is blaming the farmers for pollution in Delhi, but stubble burning is not a major source of pollution; there are others sources that should be checked. Farmers have a small window of 15-20 days between cutting of paddy and sowing of rabi crops. There should be some sustainable solution rather than machines,” says Sharma.
Some of the issues that plague the implementation of the plans to tackle pollution are poor coordination among various implementing authorities, lack of communication between state and central agencies and shortage of funding, cited by the state governments as reason, and lack of proper monitoring. For the past few years, Delhi has remained among the world’s most polluted cities, as per the list prepared by the WHO. Under fire from courts, the authorities have launched several initiatives.
For instance, Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan last week launched an Early Warning System that can predict extreme air pollution events 72 hours in advance and give necessary alerts. Vardhan said the CPCB has constituted a 41-member team that will continuously monitor the air pollution levels in Delhi and NCR and will report to the board.
“Badarpur thermal power plant is being closed; western peripheral expressway is likely to become operational in November, the Centre has released nearly Rs 600 crore to states concerned for in-situ management of crop residue and a slew of mitigation measures have been taken,” he added. How much impact these measures will have will be visible only after some time. Environmentalists affirm that these steps are not sufficient, but are happy that at least a plan has been put in place.
“We have a comprehensive plan in place to check what measures are to be taken when the levels of pollution increase. The issue is implementation as it involves measures to be taken by all departments — power, transport, urban development, PWD, construction sector and others,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, Research and Advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment.
She says the monitoring of the implementation of these measures remains an issue and also whether the departments concerned in Delhi and neighbouring cities like Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Faridabad have the resources and capabilities to implement and monitor these.
“The plan is legally binding and there is an SC-appointed committee to monitor that the measures are followed in letter and spirit in Delhi-NCR. But there is an urgent need to expand these measures countrywide. Many Tier 1 and 2 cities are grappling with air pollution, but there’s no action plan to check air pollution there,” Roychowdhury said.