Festive chokehold

NEW DELHI: In the run-up to the festival of lights, and sounds, and pollution, resulting from the bursting of crackers, it might be pertinent to take stock of the developments transpiring in the National Capital Region (NCR). Earlier this week, the National Green Tribunal sought responses from the Delhi police chief and the special commissioner of traffic management about measures taken to mitigate air pollution due to vehicular movement and parking issues. The green body was hearing the issue of deteriorating air quality in the NCR, necessitating the invoking of various stages of the anti-pollution measure Graded Response Action Plan (GPAP).

New Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) as recorded on October 23 was 364, which placed it in the very poor category. Interestingly, a survey conducted in Delhi-NCR revealed that irrespective of the AQI readings (maintained by the Central Pollution Control Board or CPCB), 18% of respondents plan to burst firecrackers during Deepavali, while 55% have opted to steer clear of them. The irony is not lost on Chennai, a city that faces significant fallouts of air pollution.

A recent Greenpeace survey analysing air pollution trends in 2023 across 10 cities in South Indian states revealed that Chennai’s monthly average PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) levels are four to seven times higher, while PM10 (coarse particulate matter) levels were three to six times higher than those in the WHO annual guidelines. PM2.5 or particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometre represent the highest health risk. Fireworks can lead to a significant spike in PM2.5 levels, at times exceeding National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) limits by as much as 875%. The pollutants from fireworks can remain in the ecosystem for hours or days together, exposing individuals to potential long-term health hazards as well.

In Sivakasi, the fireworks capital, a different narrative is playing out as the cracker industry believes that the CPCB misleadingly convinced the Supreme Court that barium emission from fireworks on the festive day was about nine times higher than the proposed standard. This resulted in the court banning the use of barium compounds in fireworks in October 2018, without providing a proper alternative. This has in turn affected production of firecrackers by as much as 30%, hitting the local industries where it hurts most.

Earlier this year in February, the NGT had directed 53 cities which witnessed deterioration in air quality to submit a complete report on the contribution of each polluting source and measures taken to reduce pollution. The tribunal went on to report that states did not fully utilise the funds received under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and the 15th Finance Commission. “Although Rs 1,644.40 crore had been set aside for air quality improvement,

19 of the 53 cities fell within the non-attainment category,” the tribunal noted.

Obviously, there are no easy answers to such problems which require systemic overhauls. Apart from effective waste management, enforcing pollution laws, managing traffic, and suppressing dust on roads and construction sites, a range of high impact strategies need to be employed to improve air quality in the next five years. These include expanding access to clean cooking fuel across the country, curbing the practice of stubble burning, introducing schemes encouraging MSMEs to adopt cleaner fuel sources, aiming for 100% electrification of new passenger vehicles (two and three wheelers) by 2030, and increasing the green cover within cities.