18 November 2023 – The Hindu

How can we deal with Pollution in Urban India

Context:

• This year’s World Cities Day (October 31) topic was “Financing Sustainable Urban Future for All.” Money needs to be directed in the right directions to prevent the premature end of urban futures due to improper urbanisation, which will make cities safer and more livable. The fact that air pollution is reducing human life expectancy by more than 10% is abhorrent.

India and pollution:

• According to a survey published by The Energy Policy Institute at Chicago (EPIC), 39 of the world’s 50 most polluting cities are located in India.
• People’s health is directly impacted by pollution, and the average Indian loses 5.3 years of life expectancy as a result; in Delhi, this loss is 11.9 years.
• In addition to aggravating cardiovascular problems, pollution causes burning eyes, irritation of the nose and throat, coughing, shortness of breath, and asthma.
• The Indo-Gangetic plains, where the argument of temperature inversion and wind speed slowing down was seen as a factor for poor air quality, are no longer the only places with bad air.
• Even in the coastal cities of India, the situation is becoming worse.

Growth of “grey” infrastructure:

• A paradigm shift is required for the entire development plan of urban development in India, aside from the appropriate execution of enforcement by agencies.
• Currently, “ecological urbanisation” or sustainable urbanisation is required.
• The main causes of the rise in pollution in Indian cities are the trend of urban expansion, which places more emphasis on real estate development, the enlargement of roads to accommodate big, fuel-guzzling cars, which in turn constricts the area meant for pedestrians, and redevelopment.
• Other important factors are road dust, concrete batching, emissions from vehicles, and polluting industrial units and their expansion into cities.
• 60% of urban pollution is thought to be caused only by motorised transportation.
• While “grey” infrastructure has expanded rapidly, other aspects of urban life, such as water bodies, urban forests, green cover on common areas, and urban agriculture, have reported shrinking. Thus, it’s important to arrange the priorities correctly.
• Unfortunately, city dwellers are compelled to play a passive observer role in the urbanisation process and have very little opportunity to participate.

Emphasis on mass transit:

• There is a strong case for adopting an alternate city-building plan that prioritises increased public transportation.
• Good public transport is required, and towns and cities need to invest in buses.
• To address the demands of urban mobility, it is anticipated that the current bus fleet in cities will need to be expanded by roughly 10 lakh vehicles.
• To regulate the movement of private motorised vehicles in urban areas, drastic measures must be implemented.
• One idea is to impose a congestion levy on private vehicle owners who drive during rush hour.
• An odd-even number plate formula can also be a significant intervention.
• When air quality deteriorates, Delhi implements a Graded Response Action Plan, or GRAP, which is a series of anti-air pollution actions.
• Industrial pollution should never be tolerated, and real-time monitoring ought to be made possible.
• Urban local bodies can guarantee street surveillance by residents, which is necessary rather than waiting for the statutory bodies to take action.
• Parks, playgrounds, urban forests, ponds, and other water features are examples of urban commons that should never be permitted to be used for private or public benefit by public or private entities.
• Pollution is a result of the nation’s redevelopment. One of the first things to suffer is a city’s environment, and there is very little significant afforestation there. Relocating 50 kilometres from the city does not reduce pollution within the city.

Bolster the rule of law:

• Some so-called fixes, like watering roads or installing pollution towers, are merely aesthetic.
• Empowering people via the governance framework of the city is a significant advancement.
• Standard operating procedures and pollution guidelines for different line departments and agencies need to be integrated into the city’s way of life in addition to being easily accessible to the public.
• A robust standard operating procedure that resembles GRAP is required. Similarly, the medical community needs to endorse the release of a public health advisory.

Summary:

• We just cannot afford to allow factors like air pollution to shorten our lives. Although they contribute the least to pollution, the poor and marginalised are the group most exposed to it and bear the most costs. Their lives must be improved.