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Source: The post is based on the article “Don’t Delhi And Punjab Govt Breath The Same Air?” published in The Times of India on 5th November 2022.
Syllabus: GS- Environmental pollution and degradation
Relevance: Air pollution in large cities.
News: The article explains the issue of poor air quality in Delhi.
Why is stubble burning in Punjab the leading cause of pollution in Delhi?
In the month of November, the contribution of stubble burning to Delhi pollution is more than 30%. More than 90% of farm fires in the months of October and November are reported from Punjab.
What are other factors responsible for air pollution in Delhi?
There is a lack of robust public transport infrastructure in Delhi. It has fewer buses today than it had 10 years back.
Biomass burning for cooking and heating leads to poor air quality in Delhi. The pollution intensity of open biomass burning is 100 to 1000 times more than those from vehicle and industries
There is reluctance on part of the government to grass the sideways and open spaces.
What is the way forward?
There is a need for more investment in well-connected public transport and roads.
Greening of open spaces should be prompted to reduce the dust.
Delhi has to work with neighbourhood states to reduce pollution from open biomass burning and coal.
There is a need for no-harm agreements with neighbour states. It should be a formal and binding agreement to stop fires.
