According to the Central Pollution Control Board data, the air quality of Delhi has been continuously deteriorating since October 18 this year. On October 21, Delhi's average air quality index was recorded above 300.
Looking at the deteriorating air quality index, the Delhi government has had to implement a Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) 2 to control air pollution. According to this action plan, restaurants, hotels, dhabas, rickshaws and diesel-powered generators using diesel, coal, and wood fuel are banned and a surge in parking fee to discourage the use of private transport.
Delhi's Environment Minister Gopal Rai has also given a message to switch off vehicles on seeing the red light on the traffic signal to reduce air pollution in the national capital through the slogan "Red light on, vehicle off".
Air pollution in Delhi starts increasing every year with the arrival of winter. With the increase in air pollution in Delhi, the politics begins between the Union and Delhi governments. Over the past decade, the burning of paddy and wheat residues in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh have been blamed for increasing air pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region. This year too, Delhi’s Chief Minister Atishi Marlena has taken the same attitude and held the neighbouring states responsible for the increasing air pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region.
The only difference this year is that she has given a clean chit to the Aam Aadmi Party-ruled state of Punjab.And blamed the stubble burning in neighbouring BJP-ruled states Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, diesel buses, brick kilns, thermal plants etc. as responsible for the increasing air pollution in Delhi.
Now the question arises as to who is actually responsible for this pollution. To find out this fact we have to go back a little bit. Even in the decade of 1990-2000, Delhi's air became very polluted. At that time, the state government found the real reason and controlled the air pollution of Delhi by imposing fines on diesel-powered buses, auto-rickshaws, etc. and suggested they should replace diesel with CNG. With this measure, Delhi's government was able to control the air pollution.
Once again now, the air of Delhi has become very polluted for the last one decade. Almost every international report on rising air pollution in Delhi mentions that air pollution is increasing rapidly in many cities of India, not just in Delhi city.
The real reason for the increasing air pollution in Delhi is the unplanned economic development of Delhi.
Encouraging the corporate sector in the name of economic growth has led to tremendous growth in vehicles (especially diesel-powered), industrial and manufacturing units. If we talk about vehicles alone, the number of which was only 34 lakh in 2000 has increased to 1.2 crore in 2023. These vehicles run on the roads of Delhi and release huge amounts of gasses like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone etc. in the environment every day.
Similarly, the industrial units here also release untreated toxic gasses into the environment. Ongoing construction activities in Delhi contribute significantly to air pollution. Along with these, coal-fired thermal plants, diesel-fired generators, mounds of garbage dumps that burn all year and other such activities emit huge amounts of toxic gasses, smoke and dust particles into the air throughout the year.
These days, the repair work of Delhi's ring road is going on in full swing. Delhi's air is also becoming polluted due to the increase in dust in the air due to the repair of the ring road. Nowadays, a thick layer of dust can be seen on trees, buildings, bus stops, public sitting places etc. in the areas surrounding the ring road.
Dust is one of the biggest sources of pollution in Delhi and can contribute to as much as 25 percent of Delhi's air pollution, according to a 2018 study by the Energy and Resources Institute( TERI)
In reality air pollution in Delhi at the beginning of winter is not caused by the burning of paddy residue in neighbouring states. The Delhi government shirks its responsibility and starts blaming it on the neighbouring states. Actually, Delhi itself is responsible for increasing air pollution.
The main reasons for increasing air pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region are related to local factors and meteorological conditions. Local factors include gasses, smoke, and dust particles emitted from various sources in Delhi. Meteorological conditions include stable air, abundant moisture in the atmosphere, and low night time temperature. With the decrease in temperature, the moisture in the air cools down on the particles of smoke, and dust, present in the air. Due to the lack of any movement in the air, the pollution present in the air gets fixed at one place as a result the air pollution transforms into the worst form.
According to a 2020 study by the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana has shown that the smoke burning of paddy stubble remains trapped in Punjab as it disperses into farther directions only when the speed of the wind is high but when the wind is calm then it settles down in its proximity. Justice Sudhir Agarwal, a member of the National Green Tribunal, said that no scientific study has been conducted to confirm that Punjab's air pollution pollutes Delhi's air.
Due to the stable air ( no movement of air), the air from the neighbouring states, be it Haryana, Uttar Pradesh or Punjab, cannot reach Delhi. If the wind is not blowing, how will the pollution reach Delhi?
Along with this, it is also a matter to be considered that if the wind comes from the west, then only the air of Punjab, Haryana will pollute Delhi. On the other hand, if the wind comes from Uttar Pradesh, after polluting the air of Delhi, it will pollute the states of Haryana and Punjab because the wind does not need boundaries to flow. As much as these states are responsible for polluting the air of Delhi, Delhi is also responsible for polluting the air of these states.
The Haryana government has issued orders to all its Deputy Commissioners, directing them to take action against farmers who are caught setting fire to the residue of paddy, and impose restrictions on them from selling crops in mandis through the e-kharid portal for the next two seasons. The state agriculture department has also asked its field officials to make sure that the directions of the Commission for Air Quality Management are implemented, and first information reports (FIRs) are registered against farmers who have burnt the paddy stubble during the current season.
Farmers in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh are producing paddy to meet the need of food grains for the inhabitants of the country. This crop (paddy) is not suitable according to the agro-climatic conditions of these states, actually it has been imposed by the union government on these states to meet the need of food grains. Due to this crop, the environment, water, and air of these states are getting polluted.
Farmers burn residue of crops due to their financial compulsions and lack of proper equipment, while Delhiites pollute the air for more profit, comfort, and fun.
The Union and Delhi governments should adopt such policies, instead of holding farmers responsible for pollution, as a result of which pollution will reduce on its own.
-First of all, the government should increase the number of public transport vehicles in proportion to the increasing population of Delhi and make them so efficient that people start preferring public vehicles instead of private vehicles.
-Installation of air-purification devices in industrial units should be ensured.
Solar panels should be installed instead of thermal plants to generate electricity.
-Garbage heaps should be disposed of in a scientific manner.
-More caution should be used for construction works.
-Instead of punishing the farmers, they should be helped by providing them with modern machinery to dispose of the residue of their paddy and wheat crops.
Delhi and union governments should put in every effort to deal with air pollution in Delhi so that people can get a clean environment to live in.
Dr Gurinder Kaur is former Professor, Department of Geography, Punjabi University, Patiala. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.