As the Diwali festival comes close, celebrated by many by bursting firecrackers and the winter season sets in, trapping pollutants in the air which hangs lower to the ground, the Delhi government has again announced a ban on firecrackers, for the third time in a row. It will also implement pollution control measures as necessary. During this part of the year, the pollution, measured by AQI (Air Quality Index), crosses the 300 mark and comes under the “very poor” category.
CYCLICAL PROBLEM
In November 2022, the Delhi government ordered the shutdown of all the primary schools and even the outdoor activities for children were prohibited. Even schools in Noida were also directed to shut down and conduct online classes for students up to upper primary or middle school. The measures were announced as the pollution level as the daily average AQI for Delhi in October, November and December was 210 (poor), 320 (very poor) and 319 (very poor) respectively, making Delhi the fourth most polluted city. Such high level often leads to serious health issues, like breathing problems, and irritation in the eyes among others. The average monthly particulate matter (PM 2.5 concentration) a measure of particles whose diameter is less than 2.5 μm and are more harmful as it can slide into the deep parts of the lungs, for the months of October, November, December was 99.7 (μgm/m3), 176.8 and 171.9 respectively — over 10 times the permissible limit as per World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. The daily average PM2.5 value for the year 2022 recorded was 98 (μgm/m3) again more than 10 times (as per the WHO). The schools were closed as the high level of pollution forced the government to announce the implementation of phase 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) — a set of emergency plans that are implemented in four stages depending upon the gravity of the air pollution.
BAN ON FIRECRACKERS
A few days back, the Supreme Court of India, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL), asked the Delhi Police to make sure that no temporary licences are issued for the sale and storage of crackers in the national capital. Reserving its verdict on a plea seeking a ban on firecrackers, a bench of Justices A.S.Bopanna and M.M.Sundresh, after being informed that the Delhi government has taken a decision to ban all the crackers, said that police should make no distinction between firecrackers and green crackers, as there was a complete ban. “When there is a ban imposed by the government it means a complete ban. The ban is for firecrackers. We don’t understand the distinction between green or black… just ensure that no temporary licences are given by the Delhi police. Giving licenses of any kind will be in violation of our orders,” the bench said. The bench also pulled up the Delhi Police for issuing temporary licences to shopkeepers in Delhi-NCR, despite a ban by the court in 2018. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for Delhi police, said that no permanent licenses for sale of firecrackers in the national capital have been issued since 2016 and temporary licenses which were issued are for green crackers. Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who represented the petitioners, showed evidence that temporary licences were issued to shopkeepers for the sale of crackers as late as September last year. Last year, the apex court, while hearing a plea filed by BJP MP Manoj Tiwari for lifting the ban on crackers, refused to pass an order and said, “Spend your money on sweets… Let people breathe clean air.
GOVERNMENT MAKES RIGHT NOISES
Earlier, on September 11, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai, on the pretext of rising pollution during winter, announced that the Arvind Kejri- wal-led AAP government has once again decided to ban all types of crackers. The minister said, “CM Kejriwal has decided to ban firecrackers on the occasion of Diwali to control pollution. The manufacturing, storage, sale, online delivery and bursting of any type of crackers are completely prohibited in Delhi.” The government said citizens opined that the bursting of crackers during Diwali causes increased air pollution and a campaign should be run to make people aware of the serious complications of air pollution. Many people also suggested that the government provide masks free of cost or at subsidised rates to save the poor from breathing hazardous air. A key suggestion was to re-star t the Odd-Even policy where cars with odd number and even number plates would ply the roads on alternate days. Citizens also suggested banning the burning of dry leaves, garbage and plastic and holding the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) responsible for dumping the garbage and solid waste. The government should encourage electric vehicles, and all new procurements by Delhi Transport Corporation should be E-buses. People opined that the government should take a cue from China and install air purifying machines like ‘Vayu’ across the state. Mechanised sweeping and artificial rains can also bring down the levels of pollution significantly. Among the other suggestions were tree plantation drives and campaigns like ‘One House, One Saplings’ should be carried out with the government distributing free saplings to Resident Welfare Associations (RWA) to encourage people to have terrace gardens. As debris and building materials from construction sites are left uncovered on the sides of the roads which leads to a rise in the dust level, it was suggested to strengthen the legal system for regulation of construction sites, people suggested.
13 HOTSPOTS ON RADAR
Recently, Gopal Rai said the government will prepare a ‘Winter Action Plan’ based on 15 focus points. It is expected that the plan will be announced by Kejriwal on October 1. Delhi government held a meeting with all the 28 departments concerned regarding the plan. The departments have been given different responsibilities on the 15 focus points regarding the plan. This year, the focus will be on hotspots, vehicle and dust pollution, stubble and garbage burning, industrial pollution, upgrade of the green war room, green app and dialogue with the central government and neighboring states. Separate action plans will be made for 13 hotspots to reduce pollution. However, data and experience suggests that such measures are inadequate at best. Despite lakhs of human lives being at stake, it is shocking that it is business as usual.
HOW OTHER CITIES DID IT
BEST INTERNATIONAL PRACTICES
Air pollution has been called the most-pressing environmental health crisis of our time, responsible for an estimated 7 million premature deaths every year. Approximately nine in 10 people around the world breathe unclean air, which increases the risk of asthma, heart disease and lung cancer. City dwellers, especially the poor, often suffer the most from air pollution, which along with imperilling lives, feeds climate change. Realizing those dangers, several municipalities are taking action to combat airborne contaminants. UNEP looks at five such cities:
Bogota, Columbia
Bogota is one of Latin America’s leaders in reducing air pollution. The city is electrifying its public bus network and aims to completely electrify the metro system, part of an ambitious plan to reduce its air pollution by 10 per cent by 2024. Bogota’s mayor, Claudia López Hernández, has also highlighted the importance of bikes. While much of Bogotá’s pollution comes from transport, forest fires in neighbouring regions and countries have also added to the toll.
Warsaw, Poland
Poland is home to 36 of EU’s 50 most-polluted cities, with air pollution responsible for 47,500 premature deaths every year. To deal with the issue, it signed C40 Clean Air Cities Declaration and launched ‘Breathe Warsaw’ to improve air quality. Warsaw now has 165 air sensors, the largest network in Europe, and ‘Breathe Warsaw’ will use them to develop an air quality database. This will also provide technical assistance to support the phase-out of coal heating and set up a low-emission zone by 2024.
Seoul, South Korea
The mean exposure of Koreans to PM2.5 is the highest of any state in the OECD, about twice those of other major cities in developed countries. In 2020, the city announced it would ban diesel cars from all public sector and have mass transit fleets by 2025. Meanwhile, a partnership with UNEP will explore the lessons learned over the past 15 years on improving air quality and help share these experiences with other cities in the region.
Accra, Ghana
Accra was the first African city to join BreatheLife campaign and is considered a leader among cities on the continent aiming to tackle air pollution. According to WHO, over 28,000 people die prematurely every year as a result of air pollution, while Accra’s average air pollution levels are five times WHO guidelines. The city has started a campaign to educate people about the health dangers of indoor cookstoves and to discourage locals from burning their waste.
Bangkok, Thailand
Hundreds of schools in Bangkok were closed in 2020, as PM2.5 levels reached unsafe levels. It has launched many initiatives to tackle both air pollution and carbon emissions. Green Bangkok 2030 project, launched in 2019, aims to increase ratio of green space in city to 10sqm per person, have trees covering 30% of city, and ensure footpaths meet international standards. 11 parks are set to open during the project’s first phase, as well as a 15km greenway.
