Capital crisis-On Air pollution 

Capital crisis-On Air pollution 

Context

• Most regions of north India in the grip of suffocating smog, and the State governments that can make it easier for millions to breathe are not act with any sense of urgency.

The looming health hazard

• The air quality index touching extremely hazardous levels has turned into a public health emergency in the capital necessitating the closure of primary schools.
• It is unethical for governments, through their indifference and inaction, to subject citizens to such toxic air, and cause extreme suffering especially among people with respiratory ailments and impaired lung function.
• The smog that envelops the region is worsening by the burning of biomass in Punjab and Haryana, and the winter atmosphere is marked by weak aeration.
• An analysis of local sources by IIT-Kanpur last year pointed to construction dust, vehicular pollution, and domestic and industrial emissions as other major factors.
• These hazardous emissions have outweighed the benefits conferred by measures such as the ban on Deepavali crackers, and in the past, the shift to compressed natural gas for commercial vehicles and restricting car use to odd and even number plates on alternate days.
• A comprehensive solution demands that the governments of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, assisted by the Centre, address farm residue burning and construction dust.
• The post-monsoon burning of rice and wheat residue releases maximum aerosols that contribute to the volume of PM2.5, which gets embedded in the lungs.
• Automation of farm operations leaves root-bound crop waste after machine harvesting, running to millions of tonnes, requiring a solution of scale.
• Sustainable residue removal is not solely achievable by the farmers alone, it requires help from the state machinery.

Emergency measures taken

• The Environment Pollution and Prevention Control Authority (EPCA), which enforced Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) two days before Diwali, has asked the Delhi government to put more emergency measures in place.
• The SC-mandated body has suggested that parking fees be quadrupled.
• A request to Delhi Metro to lower fares during non-peak hours for at least 10 days and introduce more coaches. More metros will be plying to help combat current situation.
• The EPCA, though, wanted to enforce the odd-even policy if the city’s pollution levels aggravate. The SC-mandated body’s other proposals will require at least 16 authorities to work together. The EPCA and the Delhi government have not devised a coordination mechanism between these bodies. It remains to be seen if the city’s latest pollution crisis spurs them into action.

What possibly makes the air of the capital so polluted?

• At least four major government studies over the past decade have reached varying conclusions on what makes Delhi’s air so foul.
• 2007 report concluded that control on emissions of pollutants from vehicular traffic necessitates the control on the new registration of commercial diesel vehicles in Delhi.
• 2008 report identified road dust as the biggest contributor (52.5%) to particulate matter in Delhi’s air, followed by industries (22.1%). It attributed only 6.6% of particulate emissions to vehicles.
• 2011 report conclusion that road dust from paved and unpaved roads contributed the largest share to air pollution (55%), followed by residential sources (15%), transport and vehicular pollution (13%), industrial sources (12%), and power (5%).
• 2016 report says that while underlining the role of road dust, also stressed on vehicular emissions moving vehicles, in fact, contributed to over half of Delhi’s air pollution.

How is air pollution measured in India?

• Air pollution is measured by many parameters, like CO and PM2.5
• India has come up with an Air Quality Index (AQI) to give an aggregate sense of the quality of air.
• The formulation of the index was a continuation of the initiatives under Swachh Bharat Mission envisioned by the present Prime Minister of India.
• There are six AQI categories, namely Good, Satisfactory, Moderately polluted, Poor, Very Poor, and Severe.
• The proposed AQI will consider eight pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, NH3, and Pb) for which short-term (up to 24-hourly averaging period) National Ambient Air Quality Standards are prescribed.

What are the prime sources of air pollution in India?

Agricultural waste burning

• The burning of agricultural waste in three neighbouring states is responsible for the rise in Air Pollution levels in Delhi.
• Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are claiming to have taken several measures to discourage straw and stubble burning, but farmers say they have not received any assistance from their respective governments on an alternate method to clear the fields after the harvest

Industrial chimney wastes:

• There are a number of industries which are source of pollution.
• The chief gases are SO2 and NO2.
• There are many food and fertilizers industries which emit acid vapors in air.

Thermal power stations:

• There are number of power stations and super thermal power stations in the country.
• The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is setting up four mammoth coal- powered power stations to augment the energy generation.
• The chief pollutants are fly ash, SO2 and other gases and hydrocarbons.

Automobiles:

• The Toxic vehicular exhausts are a source of considerable air pollution
• In all the major cities of the country about 800 to 1000 tonnes of pollutants are being emitted into the air daily, of which 50% come from automobile exhausts.
• The exhaust produces many air pollutants including un-burnt hydrocarbons, CO, NOx and lead oxides.

What are the laws relating to air pollution in India?

• The Government of India under Article 253 of the Constitution of India enacted the Air Act, 1981 (“Air Act”) for the prevention, control and abatement of air pollution and further to implement the provisions of the Air Act
• The Air Act consists of fifty four (54) Sections divided into seven (7) chapters.
• Air pollution, according to the Air Act means the presence of any “air pollutant” in the atmosphere.
• The Air Act confers the regulatory power to the Central Pollution Control Board (“CPCB”) and the State Pollution Control Board (“SPCB”) to prevent and control the air pollution.

Power of State Governments

Section 19 (1) of the Air Act

• The State Governments has the power to declare any area as air pollution control area after consultation with the SPCB

Section 20 of the Air Act

• The State Government also has the power to instruct the authority in charge of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 to adhere to the standards for emission of air pollutants from automobiles which are stipulated by the SBCB