Where Do Indian Cities Stand on Toxic AIR
Context:
- Researchers have found that since the National Clean Air Campaign (NCAP) was launched by the Center four years ago, progress has been modest and pollution has only minimally decreased in most places.
Information about the National Clean Air Program (NCAP):
- In February 2019, the government unveiled the NCAP, which included financial commitments and objectives for 131 of India’s worst polluting towns. As a result of years’ worth of information showing that a number of Indian towns were among the most polluted in the world, this was done. Since the 131 cities did not meet the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) from 2011 to 2015, they are referred to as non-attainment cities by the National Air Quality Monitoring Programme. (NAMP).
The following pollutant target ranges:
- The nation’s current, yearly average statutory limits for the two main classes of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) are 40 ug/m3 and 60 ug/m3, respectively.
- Using the pollution levels of 2017 as a baseline, the NCAP initially set a goal of reducing the two primary air pollutants, PM10 and PM2.5, by 20–30% in 2024. But in September 2022, the Center unveiled a new objective: to cut particulate matter concentration by 40% by 2026.
- To meet these goals, funding is managed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which assesses a city’s PM10 levels—the significantly larger, coarser particles. However, not all cities check the smaller, more dangerous PM2.5 particles as thoroughly, mostly due to a lack of technology.
- Cities must measure improvement starting in 2020–21, which necessitates a 15% or greater decrease in the annual average PM10 concentration and an increase of at least 200 “good air” days. Anything less will be seen as “low,” and as a result, the Center will only receive a smaller amount of funding from the Environment Ministry.
Evaluating the effectiveness of the NCAP:
- According to CREA’s analysis of the NCAP’s four-year performance, only 38 of the 131 cities that were given annual pollution reduction targets under agreements signed between State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs), Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), and the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) managed to meet the targets for FY21-22.
- In an effort to track progress toward achieving the 2024 clean air targets set forth by the NCAP, Climate Trends and Respirer Living Sciences, two organisations active in air pollution policy, created the NCAP Tracker.
- The most polluted of these cities in 2022 was Delhi, the capital of India, with an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 99.71 ug/m3. However, Delhi’s PM2.5 concentrations have risen by about 7% in comparison to 2019. The bulk of the top 10 most polluted cities in 2022 are located on the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
- All three of Bihar’s non-attainment cities—Patna, Muzaffarpur, and Gaya—now rank among the top ten most polluted cities, according to PM2.5 levels. Even though their levels are still significantly above the CPCB’s annual average safe limits for PM2.5 and PM10, the concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 in nine out of the ten cities that were the most polluted in 2019 have reduced.
Current circumstances:
- Six large airsheds, some of which are shared with Pakistan, exist in India. While current government attempts can reduce particle matter, a significant reduction is only possible if the regions spanning the airsheds adopt coordinated policies, according to a recent 2022 assessment by the World Bank.
- Currently, over 60% of South Asians are exposed to an annual average of 35 g/m3 of PM2.5. In some sections of the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), it increased to as high as 100 g/m3, which is more than 20 times the World Health Organization’s suggested upper limit of 5 g/m3.
Additional actions:
- In response to air pollution, which is a seasonal occurrence in north India every winter, particularly in the National Capital Region, the Center and the States around Delhi have implemented a variety of legislative and administrative measures. One of these is the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which the Supreme Court mandated. It employs an index to divide the four toxicity levels of air quality—extreme (401–450), extremely bad (301–400), and emergency (450+)—into four subcategories.
- As pollution levels worsen, government laws often become more stringent. These can involve restricting delivery truck traffic, stopping building projects, closing schools, and imposing limitations on the flow of passenger cars.
About CAQM:
- It is a judicial body. It takes the position of organisations like the Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan state and federal pollution control bodies. The old Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority was replaced by it, as required by the Supreme Court (EPCA).
- The 18-member Commission brings together the federal government, the states, and other stakeholders to reduce air pollution in Delhi ncr and the surrounding areas.
- It has sole authority over the NCR, which encompasses portions of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan in terms of air pollution. It works with the respective state governments, the CPCB, and ISRO.
- The Commission has the power to impose a fine of up to Rs 1 crore and a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison in the event that its directions are disregarded.
Conclusion:
- India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and other South Asian countries must start a conversation about the issue in order to address air pollution using a “airshed plan.” Other regions, including ASEAN, the Nordic nations, and all of China, have solved the problem in this way. States must stop blaming one another and come up with a joint plan if they wish to reduce air pollution for their citizens.
