Delhi Pollution-Looking at social. political facets of climate crisis can help in better adaptation

News– Rising Pollution level is a health hazard and a violation of Article 21.  

India is currently ranked the fifth-most polluted country in the Global Air Quality Index list.   interventions dictated by policies, so far, have been binary in nature. This is primarily because we have been treating air pollution as a technological problem or as one that requires the actions of individuals alone, whilst ignoring its social and political facets. Political action becomes crucial given the silent and short–spanned, yet cyclical nature of air pollution. A shift from air pollution as a technological problem to a political one will enable parties to be held accountable on this front.  

How transition of pollution from technological solutions to social and political solutions will happen? 

1) Public Interest Litigation – They Provide an excellent path to hasten policy drafting and enable public participation. 

2) Raising issue of pollution as a Violation of Article 21–Degrading levels of air in cities can be approached as a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution. Article 21 states “no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to a procedure established by law”. As supreme court has reiterated in various of its judgements that meaning of life under Article 21 does not merely mean “the physical act of breathing, it does not connote mere animal existence or continued drudgery through life”. 

This becomes much more important in the light of the facts that fund for Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has been halved and also many Environmental laws have been repealed those environmentalists deem important.  

3) Public Participation – Huge public awakening is paramount to solve this crisis and this requires not just moral action but also a democratic one based on human rights. 

What are some measures to Prevent further worsening of pollution? 

• Switching to clean energy sources for cook stoves 
• Measures to reduce road traffic by raising parking fees 
• Levying congestion charges 
• Creating vehicle-free zones and cycle paths  
• Emphasizing on improving standards of industrial efficiency.  

Source– This post is based on the article “Delhi Pollution-Looking at social. political facets of climate crisis can help in better adaptation” published in Down to earth on 9th Dec 2021.