Indian cities are faltering under multiple problems, including environmental issues that we must assert with. Most desperate of them all is the issue of air pollution. The quality of air that citizens are forced to breathe- especially in the heavily polluted cities- has a serious impact on our health and well-being.
World Health Organisation (WHO) study found that fourteen of the twenty world’s most polluted cities belonged to India. Kanpur, in Uttar Pradesh, emerged as the city with the highest PM2.5 level, standing at 173 (17 times higher than the limit set for safety). It is estimated that in 2016, over 9 lakh deaths were caused due to air pollution in India. Some other cities with high PM 2.5 levels include Faridabad, Varanasi, Gaya, Patna, Delhi, Lucknow and Agra. Delhi, as the capital of the country, too gained notorious reputation as a result of its severely poor air quality. In the past, there have been multiple instances where the presence of heavy smog in the national capital has led to the declaration of public health emergencies, flight cancellations, school closures and inevitable political acrimony.
The sources of air pollution are multiple. Vehicular emissions, crop burning, generation of dust- particularly from construction sites, depleting tree covers and poor waste management – all contribute towards the declining air quality. One of the problems with tackling air pollution solely at the city level is that several factors which contribute towards increasing pollution levels have their origins in the bordering sub-urban areas. In Delhi, for instance, one of the major factors responsible for its declining air quality is paddy straw burning in its neighbouring states.
Air pollution does not recognize geographical boundaries. Just as polluted air from rural areas travels into cities, cities too contribute towards rural pollution. Thus, it is critical for anti-pollution efforts to be coordinated across different levels. Urban-rural and inter-state responses are integral to crafting successful solutions. Fortunately, the Government of India (GoI) has responded to the air pollution epidemic with a nation-wide programme. This is likely to have very positive impact on the health of all citizens, especially city dwellers. The Air Quality Life Index indicates that if national standards with regard to air quality are met, life expectancy would go up by two years.
This is clearly what the National Clean Air Mission (CAM-INDIA) aims to achieve. It is a cross-sectoral initiative for air pollution mitigation launched by GoI involving Ministries of Transport, Power, Construction, Agriculture, Rural Development, Environment and the states. Along with a five-year action plan to curb air pollution, the Mission hopes to build a pan-India air quality monitoring network and heighten citizen awareness. Air quality can be significantly improved by cutting the use of solid fuel in households; using sustainable fuels can reduce air pollution levels by almost 40 percent. According to the 2011 Census, 16.6 crore households out of a total of 24.7 crore continued to rely on solid fuels (firewood, crop residue, dung and coal) for cooking. Hopefully, GoI’s Ujjwala scheme, which provides cooking gas to millions of poor households will substantially reduce solid fuel usage. Additionally, reducing emissions from thermal power plants, instituting strong emission standards for industries and introducing stronger vehicular emission standards also need to be effectively implemented. In this regard, state pollution control boards (PCBs) are adopting the Star Rating Programme. The programme rates industries on their fine particulate pollution emissions and enables the monitoring of industries’ pollution levels. Furthermore, in partnership with GoI, states are promoting an electric vehicle policy. Use of electrically powered buses, cars and two-wheelers are bound to have a positive qualitative effect on air quality in cities.
Certain policies and programmes focus specifically on cities- The National Clean Air Programme targets 102 polluted Indian cities and aims to reduce their PM2.5 levels by about one-third over the next five years. Steps are also being taken for upgradation to BS VI fuel from BS IV which is expected to reduce air pollution. Initial results are encouraging. The Environment Ministry reported a fall in the national annual average concentration of PM 2.5 from 134 micrograms per cubic metre in 2016 to 125 in 2017. For PM 10, the national annual average fell from 289 micrograms per cubic metre in 2017 to 268 in 2016. An action plan has also been readied for 94 cities which suffer from severe air pollution.
While steps are being taken to reduce air pollution at the national and state levels, cities could improve the national performance by introducing complementary initiatives. Firstly, the Clean India Campaign requires energetic implementation. Since dust and waste burning are major sources of PM, cities must ensure wall-to-wall paving of streets, the vacuum cleaning of roads, enforce bans on open solid waste burning and attempt to effectively recover methane from landfills.
Some state municipal acts make it mandatory for cities to prepare an annual environment status report. The main objective of such a report is to curate data which allows cities to take cognizance of where they stand in terms of environmental well-being, including the status of air pollution. The next step for cities should be to launch remedial steps as the annual report enables municipalities to assess the impact of their policies on a yearly basis. Sadly, while the reports have been prepared, not much action has been taken. This needs to change.
Many cities also carry out a decennial tree census’ which tells them what their tree population is. Depletion of tree cover in specific areas triggers a warning mechanism advising the city to replenish tree stock via fresh plantation. Another city-centric solution that municipalities should consider implementing is the incentivisation of the maintenance of roof-top gardens as well as, potted plants in balconies and kitchen gardens through suitable amendments in development control regulations.
While the issue of air pollution has managed to capture public imagination, the problem of growing question of growing population density in cities continues to be at best- an afterthought. High human density hinders the successful implementation of positive initiatives. The volume of polluting activities continue to multiply, as the space to counteract them physically shrinks. The question of decentralising urbanisation needs to be addressed in a meaningful way, for it holds the key to improving the quality of urban life.