Every year around this time, the air quality index (AQI) levels in Delhi-NCR slip into the ‘severe’ category due to stubble burning in neighbouring states, and the government agencies get busy discussing the alternatives to end it, but in vain. This has become an episodic problem from October to mid-November for the last several years.
“The minute air pollution increased, Delhi had the highest number of Covid cases in one day – 7,000. International research has also shown that places with high pollution levels will have more Covid cases,” observes Jyoti Pande Lavakare, Co-Founder of Care for Air, who will soon release her book, Breathing Here is Injurious to your Health.
The bio decomposer by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (Pusa) was tested successfully on the outskirts of Delhi. It can turn crop residue into manure in 15 to 20 days. Even Turbo Happy Seeder is being viewed as a solution. “Such solutions exist only in theory. None have been implemented on ground,” says Environmentalist Jai Dhar Gupta.
“Turbo Happy Seeder is not exactly a solution because no farmer in the country will spend this much money on it. If the government buys it and gives it to them for free, that’s a different thing. Even if the whole village buys it together, it can only do a limited area during a season. Moreover, there is no use of this seeder for the remaining six months of the year,” he adds.
Lavakare is of the same opinion. He says the problem is easy to solve, but the government doesn’t have the intention to do so: “In 2016, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center said that stubble can be used as a mulch to grow the next crop. The government should be spreading these solutions ahead in time, and not when the problem has already begun.”
TERI Director Sumit Sharma says on comparing 2016 to 2019, there was some reduction in the number of fires detected.
“But this year, the fires have increased, and even started early. Burning the stubble is a much cheaper option for farmers than these technologies. Moreover, year-round sources like transport, industries, power plants, and brick kilns also lead to pollution.” Unless the government creates a business model to ensure that the residue is collected and put into some use, the farmers are not going to use it for a better purpose, Sharma believes.
Environmentalist Vimlendu Jha feels that the situation is extremely bad this year given the core context of Covid. “Apart from a systemic solution to stubble burning, local sources of pollution need to be stopped. These create an air pollution crisis, public health crisis and increase Covid cases. There is still very little strategic and long-term thinking in combating air pollution.”
Sunil Dhingra, Senior Fellow and Associate Director, Renewable Energy Technology Applications, TERI, shares that these technological innovations need to be scaled up. “Moreover, there is no right business model for execution. The government has given almost `1,200 crore for Turbo Happy Seeders and other machinery in two years but the small farmers are facing problems because they involve high operating costs. There are solutions, but no investment and infrastructure,” adds Dhingra.
Ban crackers?
Netizens recently trolled another Tanishq advertisement that promoted cracker-free Diwali, even though it’s common knowledge that bursting crackers can aggravate pollution levels.“Trolling an ad is just the stupidity of the masses,” Jha says.
“They don’t understand that Diwali is a festival of lights and not crackers that makes your children choke. I think this is not the question of sentiments and faith.”He believes that the cracker ban will help as the pollution level goes up almost 23 times in Delhi-NCR on the day of Diwali. But Lavakare says that cracker ban will only be of help if implemented strictly. “Haryana has allowed two hours to burn crackers on Diwali, which is wrong. Every year, they make the same mistake. They will ban at the last minute, when people have already stocked on it,” she adds.
Solutions
Gupta says there are two ways to solve the problem – penamising and incentivising.
“The government has tried to penalise bad behaviour and they have failed, then why can’t they take the positive approach? You give us the residue and we will pay you per quintal. Why would a farmer burn something that’s worth money? We can make energy and products from it (IKEA is conducting tests to make furniture from this residue). Many industries will be willing to pay for it,” he shares.
Improve public transport, regulate construction and demolition activities that contribute 70 per cent to the PM 10, recommends Jha. Thirteen coal thermal power plants in the periphery of Delhi need to be shut, municipal corporations have to stop open burning of garbage.
“We also need a crop pattern change. The rice-growing pattern is creating an issue of water and air. We need to change it by incentivising farmers to grow something else,” says Jha.
Ad banned
Netizens recently trolled a second Tanishq advertisement because this time it promoted cracker-free Diwali. Jha says. “The trolls don’t understand that Diwali is a festival of lights and not crackers that makes your children choke.”