The Centre for Science and Environment's Atlas on Weather Disasters shows that between January 2022 and March 2025, the 13 Himalayan states and Union territories reported extreme weather events on 822 days, claiming 2,863 lives.
“Remember in his little climate documentary when a woman he was interviewing called his ass out on him being a hypocrite? This is exactly why,” someone wrote, referring to a clip from Leo’s 2016 documentary, Before the Flood. In the film, environmentalist and political activist Sunita Narain told Leo directly, “Your consumption is really going to put a hole in the planet... The fact is that we need to put the issue of lifestyle and consumption at the center of climate negotiations.”
The Centre for Science and Environment's Atlas on Weather Disasters shows that between January 2022 and March 2025, the 13 Himalayan states and Union territories reported extreme weather events on 822 days, claiming 2,863 lives.
The Supreme Court ruled that pollution control boards can impose compensatory damages for environmental harm, emphasizing prevention over punishment in regulation. Pollution control boards are constitutionally empowered to impose and collect restitutionary or compensatory damages under the Water and Air Acts for actual or potential harm to the environment — not merely punitive penalties — the Supreme Court said in a landmark ruling that redefines the powers of environmental regulators. Delivering a judgment with far-reaching implications for environmental governance, a bench led by Justice PS Narasimha declared that such powers are not only legally valid under Sections 33A of the Water Act and 31A of the Air Act, but are also a “necessary concomitant of the fundamental rights of citizens who suffer environmental wrongs and the duties of a statutory regulator.” While setting aside a 2012 ruling of the Delhi high court that stripped pollution control boards of their authority to seek environmental damages, the court underscored that remediation and prevention, not just punishment, must lie at the heart of environmental regulation in India. “This order is a very good development. In fact, this was a concern with Air and Water acts because earlier they were excessively focused on punitive action which led to criminalisation. That was not a good tool to drive change. Civil penalties are very important tools to drive action but they were either imposed by NGT or by Supreme Court,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, Centre for Science and Environment.
Gurgaon: Among India's most polluted cities, Faridabad has been part of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) for six years, yet it has seen little improvement in air quality and used up just 40% of funds meant to reduce pollution. Of Rs 107 crore allocated to the city under NCAP since 2019, Rs 43.7 crore has been utilised, govt data shows. Faridabad was the only city in Haryana to be tagged among 130 others across India as a ‘non-attainment' city as it consistently failed to meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Under NCAP, the cities were initially given the target to reduce particulate matter (PM10) concentration by 20-30% by 2024, using 2017 levels as the baseline. The aim was later revised to reduce up to 40% of PM10 levels by 2025-26 or meet NAAQS's maximum permissible limit of 60µg/m³ (annual average) by then. The city appears to be far from meeting either of the targets. Analysis of data shows that Faridabad by 2024 reduced its annual PM10 level by 17% only (2020-21 level was taken as baseline as the city did not have data before that). Annual reading of PM10 data also indicates inconsistent progress. From FY21 to FY22, average concentrations of PM10 reduced slightly from 229 µg/m³ to 209 µg/m³, but the following year, it went up to 212µg/m³. The city logged a more sizeable improvement the years after, with average PM10 level at 190 µg/m³ in 2023-24, and 153 µg/m³in 2024-25. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) also found through a right-to-information (RTI) application that most of NCAP funds used in Faridabad were deployed for dust control measures such as paving roads and using mechanical sweeping machines and water sprinklers. Less than 1% of Rs 43.7 crore was spent to curb industrial emissions, the think-tank said. Asked about this focus on dust mitigation, a Faridabad corporation (MCF) official said on Monday that funds were allocated to traffic and vehicle management as most industries have been shifted out of NCR. "Funds were utilised for prevention of parking in non-designated areas, setting up charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs), and providing training and skill development for officials," he said. Additionally, NCAP funds were used to implement a public awareness campaign on pollution sources, control measures and afforestation. "The aim is to create a cleaner, healthier environment for residents and to bring the city's air quality within the acceptable limits," the official said. Experts told TOI that the measures taken in Faridabad were not enough to dramatically reduce pollution. "In the case of Faridabad, mostly funds are being used for the use of sprinklers and mechanical road sweeping machines, widening roads, and black-topping to maintain pothole-free roads. These are very minimal steps. More concrete moves need to be taken to show progress," said Shubhansh Tiwari, a research associate at CSE. Tiwari said it's challenging to independently assess the trend in PM10 concentration based on manual monitoring as data from the monitors was not available in the public domain. Manoj Kumar, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), said underutilization of NCAP funds raises serious concerns. "This limited utilisation must be assessed, not just in terms of expenditure, but in terms of actual air quality improvements achieved. The city continues to record PM levels well above NAAQS standards. Unless remaining funds are effectively used, Faridabad is likely to remain among the most polluted cities in NCR and the broader Indo-Gangetic plain," he said.
As delegates from 180 nations gather in Geneva today to tackle one of the biggest environmental challenges of modern times — plastic pollution — through a proposed Global Plastics Treaty they hope to finalise over the next 10 days — fisherfolk in far-off Dahej, on the western coast of India abutting the Arabian Sea, are struggling to find solutions to their rapidly declining catch of prawns, crabs and various fish. They believe the toxic effluent discharge from the Dahej petrochemical complex is destroying marine life. But the real problem with Dahej, India’s richest industrial zone as well as its biggest petroleum, chemical and petrochemical investment region, is not just that it’s upending the lives of local fisherfolk, but also that its products are leaching microplastics into the food chain. Indian diplomats seeking to protect India’s position at the Global Plastics Treaty conference in Geneva believe that the treaty should only focus on the waste management part of plastics – how to remove garbage landfills, for example. Along with countries like China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran, India is resisting any change in the text of the treaty that calls for binding limits on plastic manufacturing and the chemicals used in it. But if 106 out of the 180 countries participating in the conference have their way, then India and the remaining naysayers will have to abide by a legally binding international instrument to restrict plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The stakes are enormous. If the Global Plastics Treaty is passed, countries like India will have to change their internal laws to fall in line with the new rules that deal with plastic manufacturing and the chemicals used in it. Meaning, the Dahej petrochemical region will have to spend large sums of money to make changes in the way they treat their potentially poisonous discharge of chemicals that includes microplastic waste that is harming the life cycle. Some of these accumulate in the body, mimic hormonal action, affect fertility, damage the nervous system and cause cancer. India’s dilemma is clear. It needs manufacturing industries, like the petrochemical one at Dahej, with 180 existing and 650 under-construction industrial units, to provide a thrust to its economy. It has openly stated its position against production caps because it wants to become a major exporter of petrochemicals. With the market size of the Indian petrochemicals sector expected to grow to $300 billion by 2025, up from the current $220 billion, the treaty might come in the way of its export ambitions. But India is also the biggest plastic polluter in the world, accounting for a fifth of the global plastic emissions, according to a 2024 study in Nature. While it has proposed the inclusion of a dedicated multilateral fund in the treaty for developing countries to transition, it has been against phasing out problematic plastics — mostly single-use plastic, even though there is an official ban since 2019. “In India, 67 per cent of the petrochemical manufacturing capacity is utilised to manufacture polymers (plastics),” said Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh of the Centre for Science & Environment. According to the UN Environment Programme, more than 13,000 chemicals are used in plastics — of these, 7,000 have been tested for adverse impacts and over 3,200 identified as ‘chemicals of potential concern’. In fact, 99 per cent of plastics are a petrochemical product —owing their origin to crude oil and natural gas. According to international research group Zero Carbon Analytics, 63 per cent of the global petrochemical production is used to make plastic polymers. Only 1 per cent have a renewable source (called bioplastics). The Geneva conference is the sixth meeting since 2022, when the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) adopted a resolution to develop a treaty to end plastic pollution across its life cycle (production, design, usage and disposal). The fifth meeting, held in Busan, South Korea, in November 2024 was intended to be the final one, but due to disagreement between countries, it failed to deliver a treaty.
Leading public interest think tank – Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) – has named Nabha Power Ltd’s (NPL) Rajpura thermal power plant (TPP) as India’s best-performing supercritical coal-based thermal power plant for emission intensity. This is in the below 800MW capacity unit category. NPL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro and the thermal power plant is located in Punjab’s Patiala district. In its latest report titled “Decarbonizing the Coal-based Thermal Power Sector in India: A Roadmap,” released recently, CSE evaluated the emission intensity of all coal-based thermal power plants in India and identified Rajpura plant among the top performers. According to CSE, Rajpura plant achieved an emission factor of 0.84 tonne/MWh, a benchmark among all supercritical power units in the country. This is significantly better than the national average emission factor of 0.97 tonne/MWh. The CSE report also highlighted the plant’s auxiliary power consumption rate of 4.62 per cent, the lowest in the sector. Auxiliary power consumption refers to the portion of electricity used by a plant to operate its systems — such as pumps, fans, and other essential equipment. A lower auxiliary power consumption rate indicates higher operational efficiency, as more of the generated power is available for external supply. “Benchmark set by Rajpura TPP nudges other coal based TPPs to adopt operational and modernisation measures to achieve emission intensity improvements. Coal decarbonisation potential via efficiency improvement is key to emission reductions in the power sector of India”, said Parth Kumar, Programme Manager - CSE. Commenting on the report, S K Narang, Chief Executive – NPL, said: “This recognition by CSE is a proud moment for all of us at Nabha Power. It validates our relentless focus on operational efficiency, environmental responsibility, and the adoption of best-in-class technologies. We remain committed to setting new benchmarks in sustainable power generation.” Rajpura plant comprises two supercritical units, each with a capacity of 700 MW, bringing the total installed capacity to 1,400 MW. Both the units were commissioned in 2014 and continue to operate efficiently. The CSE report commended the fact that despite operating both the units using domestic coal, the plant is able to maintain emission factors below 0.9 tonne/MWh. Congratulating NPL on the feat, D K Sen, NPL Chairman and Advisor to the L&T CMD, said: “Rajpura power plant’s performance is a testament to L&T’s engineering excellence and unwavering commitment to sustainability. We are proud of the team at Nabha Power for leading the way in clean and efficient thermal power generation.” The performance of Rajpura power plant reflects L&T’s overall focus on environmental responsibility and efficient resource utilisation. L&T has set a target to achieve water neutrality by 2035 and carbon neutrality by 2040.
Starting Tuesday, over 190 countries will get into a huddle in Geneva, Switzerland to break an impasse to reach agreement over the next fortnight on the first-ever Global Plastics Treaty that will create a legally binding framework to end plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. This will be the second instalment of the fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) of the United Nations. Countries will push to address plastic pollution through its life cycle, right from production which uses polluting oil and gas to the challenges of plastic waste disposal and recycling. Negotiators will pick up from the previous meeting held in Busan, South Korea last December, where talks had collapsed over critical and unresolved issues. These issues and disagreements were over the draft treaty’s provisions on putting a cap on production of polymers, elimination of harmful chemicals from plastic production, and phasing out of harmful plastic products. As per the Center for International Environmental Law, a USA-based non-profit, the current draft text, issued during Busan, contains 370 brackets. The brackets indicate areas of no agreement between countries. It was in 2022 in Nairobi that a resolution was adopted at the United Nations Environment Assembly to develop global rules to end plastic pollution, and to do so by the end of 2024. If successfully adopted, the treaty would be the most consequential one on environmental issues since the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The talks on the global treaty will resume in the backdrop of a new Lancet report which said that “plastics cause disease and death from infancy to old age and are responsible for health-related economic losses exceeding $1.5 trillion annually.” Civil society and environmental campaigners have termed the negotiations as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to end plastic pollution, and have called on countries to ensure significant cuts in plastic production, A draft text of the treaty released during talks in Busan had divided the countries between the camps of oil rich nations, who drew a red line over capping plastic production, against ‘high ambition countries – like Rwanda, Peru and Mexico, who pushed for caps. The oil rich ‘like-minded countries’ had said that plastic cuts were beyond the mandate of the 2022 resolution to end plastic pollution, and the provisions were stretching to include trade and economic barriers. India has maintained that any treaty should be finalized through consensus, and had opposed curbs on production of primary polymers, and instead pushed for focus on reducing plastic pollution. Experts said that the negotiations will resume with the chair looking to resolve past differences. “There are a few countries that have worked actively in the intersessional period. They have looked at the chair’s text and streamlined it in the form of proposals. These proposals are on Articles related to placing curbs on plastic production, global bans on problematic plastic products and chemicals of concerns, and plastic product design among others. These proposals are likely to be placed in the meeting tomorrow or day after,” said Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh, programme manager, solid waste and circular economy, Centre for Science and Environment. On India’s position, Singh added, “India is willing to engage on most of the issues, but has reservations and red lines on having no production cuts and trade barriers.” India’s negotiators could not be reached for a comment. The exponential growth in plastic production is one of the key drivers of plastic pollution. Globally, annual production has doubled, soaring from 234 million tonnes in 2000 to 460 million tonnes in 2019, while plastic waste has more than doubled from 156 Mt in 2000 to 353 Mt in 2019, as per a report of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Production is likely to triple in a business-as-usual scenario by 2060, as per the United Nations Environment Programme.
Droughts and floods are increasingly common and severe worldwide, often due to extreme rainfall patterns. Monsoon regions, which have adapted to cycles of drought and abundance for centuries, offer valuable insights into rainwater monitoring and conservation. In Korea, a significant lesson emerges from the 15th century. During King Sejong's reign in 1441, the nation developed the world's first official rain gauge, the cheugugi, a copper cylindrical instrument. This innovation was accompanied by the creation of a state-administered rain monitoring network. On September 3 of that year, as recorded in the Annals of the Choson Dynasty — a UNESCO Memory of the World record — local magistrates were tasked with measuring rainfall and reporting findings to the central government. This initiative marked one of the earliest examples of climate data governance, viewing rain as a measurable, manageable, and communal resource — a public good to be respected. India also boasts a deep history of rainwater harvesting, tracing back to the Vedic period and the Indus–Sarasvati Valley civilisation (3,000–1,500 BC) through to the 19th century. Indian communities across diverse ecological zones established decentralized systems to collect and store rainwater, such as the sophisticated reservoirs found at the archaeological site of Dholavira in Gujarat. Historical records, including ancient inscriptions, temple documents, and folk traditions, reveal that these systems were engineered and governed, with set rules for sharing and maintaining water as a communal asset. While these practices waned during colonial rule, they are being revitalized by local communities, government initiatives, and NGOs today. The revival of traditional wells is gaining traction, especially in urban areas grappling with water shortages. In Bengaluru, southern India, communities are employing traditional well-digging techniques to access shallow aquifers. These efforts frequently receive support from various levels of government and organizations like Biome Environmental Trust, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, and the Centre for Science and Environment. The current Indian prime minister has also initiated the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign to bolster community-led rainwater harvesting nationwide. In Korea, there is a burgeoning revival of this ancient knowledge in contemporary settings. Urban projects like the Star City rainwater management system show promise, yet the movement to restore traditional practices, such as rainwater harvesting, is still gaining momentum. In Cambodia, the Rain School Initiative empowers students and teachers to manage rainwater for both drinking and climate education purposes. Rainwater represents not only a technical solution but also a cultural key to resilience, offering autonomy, sustainability, and hope. This is why the proposal to establish UN Rain Day on September 3 exists. This date honors Korea's historical contribution to rain monitoring and celebrates global rain literacy. It is a symbolic reminder of how rain has shaped human civilizations and its potential to influence our future — if we embrace the wisdom of water. International designations, like World Water Day (March 22) and World Toilet Day (November 19), have successfully raised awareness and driven global action. A UN Rain Day would highlight rain as a crucial but often overlooked resource, especially important for climate adaptation in monsoon regions and beyond.
In response to the concerns regarding plastic pollution in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems worldwide, a diverse assembly comprising national governments, international organisations, civil society entities, private sector representatives, and academia will convene in Geneva, Switzerland’s capital city, from 5 to 14 August for the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee (INC-5.2) meeting on plastic pollution. The primary objective of this assembly is to finalise an international, legally binding instrument to address plastic pollution, with particular attention to its impact on marine environments. According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), in March 2022, at the resumed fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2), a historic resolution was adopted to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The resolution (5/14) entitled “End plastic pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument”, requested the Executive Director of UNEP to convene an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop “the instrument,” which is to be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic, including its production, design, and disposal. Based on this, UNEP said the INC commenced its work during the second half of 2022, with an ambitious target to complete the negotiations by the end of 2024, but this did not happen. Again, the third session (INC-3), which the UNEP said marked the process’s midway point from 13 to 19 November 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya, was followed by the fourth session (INC-4) from 23 to 29 April 2024 in Ottawa, Canada. The first part of the fifth session (INC-5.1) took place from 25 November to 1 December 2024 in Busan, Republic of Korea. Now, expectations are high, as critical stakeholders worry if the second part of the fifth session (INC-5.2), scheduled to take place in Geneva, will deliver stringent regulations to address the impacts of plastic pollution globally due to alleged significant pushbacks from industry lobbyists, particularly those from fossil fuel and chemical industry states. Plastic pollution concerns in Africa, Nigeria According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), annually, more than 400 million tons of plastic are produced globally. An estimated 19–23 million tons end up in lakes, rivers and seas. However, only less than 10 per cent of the world’s annual plastic production is recycled. In Africa, which produces only 5 per cent and consumes 4 per cent of global plastic, a growing population and urbanisation are driving an increase in single-use plastic, exacerbating environmental pollution and health threats. Meanwhile, Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, is among the countries facing a severe plastic pollution crisis, ranking as a top global polluter. Annually, an estimated 2.5 to 3.5 million tons of plastic waste are generated across Nigeria, with a decimal fraction being recycled. This often leads to widespread environmental damage, since plastics do not decay (are non-biodegradable), impacting both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and posing risks to public health. If one looks into major drainages and corners of major cities and communities in Nigeria, the chances of finding empty water sachets and plastic bottles, as well as takeaway plastic packages, are significantly high. In the face of these growing concerns, several efforts are ongoing to address plastic pollution in Nigeria. One of the states leading this effort is Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. Recently, the Lagos State Government announced that it has commenced full enforcement of its ban on certain single-use plastics (SUPs). Similarly, in June, the UNEP explained that they are working with the Nigerian government to introduce a series of regulations that will make companies that produce and use plastic packaging responsible for countering plastic pollution. Major dividing issues among negotiating blocs at INC As Parties seek to develop and finalise a legally binding international treaty on plastic pollution, a deep division has emerged over critical themes following the past four cycles of negotiations held. According to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), there are several concerns about whether the treaty should include caps on plastic production, inclusion of chemicals of concern and design standards for plastic products. Also, parties do not agree on the structure of finance mechanisms, including a possible primary polymer fee and remediation fund and whether measures should be mandatory or voluntary, and applied globally or nationally. Over the course of five rounds of negotiations of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), the CSE noted that member states have had ample opportunity to articulate their red lines, identify points of convergence, and highlight areas of substantive divergence. These discussions, the centre said, have laid the groundwork for the adoption of an international, legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. However, the group said progress remains hindered by a persistent divide between oil and plastic-producing countries, many of which have pushed for a narrow focus on downstream waste management and a larger group of countries advocating for an ambitious, full life-cycle approach to plastic pollution. The experts said the current Chair’s text reflects this tension and that it presents a significantly diluted version of the treaty that was initially envisioned, shaped by the assertive positions and influence of fossil fuel-aligned states. “As a result, several critical provisions, such as those related to plastic production limits, toxic chemical phase-outs, and financing mechanisms, remain heavily bracketed or intentionally ambiguous,” a fresh report by the CSE released on Sunday, noted. Since the commencement of the fifth session, however, the report suggests there has been renewed momentum from parties after a number of countries submitted formal textual proposals on key articles of the draft treaty. These proposals, it said, have emerged from active bilateral and multilateral consultations, signaling a growing appetite among member states to move the process forward in Geneva. Meanwhile, in early July 2025, member states convened in Nairobi for consultations aimed at identifying potential landing zones, particularly for the more contentious articles of the draft treaty. Several of these articles saw the submission of fresh textual proposals by member states, reflecting evolving positions and efforts to bridge critical divides. Over 100 countries, including members of the “High Ambition Coalition,” backed binding reductions in plastic production. In contrast, the CSE said oil- and petrochemical-exporting nations, like Saudi Arabia and Russia, resisted such caps, emphasising waste management instead. Groups like India, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia also opposed any changes to the consensus-based decision-making process, stalling agreement on procedural reforms. At the negotiation, Nigeria falls under the Africa Group. So far, Parties have expressed divergent views and demands under the different articles (about 20) referenced in the initial draft texts. For instance, deliberations around Article 1, dubbed as “Objectives” of the “Global Plastics Treaty”, reveal both a broad consensus on the need to end plastic pollution and divergent perspectives on the framing and ambition of this objective. “Most countries agree that the treaty should explicitly aim to protect human health and the environment, with many emphasising the need for a comprehensive, full life-cycle approach to plastics,” the CSE noted. It said countries such as Ghana (on behalf of the African Group), Rwanda, Bangladesh and Tuvalu (on behalf of PSIDS) advocate for a clear and strong reference to addressing plastic pollution throughout its entire life cycle from production to disposal. The groups highlight the importance of tackling not only plastic waste, but also upstream drivers like production volumes and product design. These positions, the CSE said, often reference marine environments and biodiversity, recognising the global and transboundary nature of plastic pollution. Brazil, Egypt and Indonesia also support the overarching goal of ending plastic pollution but tend to frame it within broader sustainable development or environmental protection narratives. Malaysia introduces circular economy considerations, suggesting that sustainable waste management and safer material cycles are integral to the treaty’s success. On the other hand, countries such as Iran, Kazakhstan and Kuwait call for greater sensitivity to national contexts. Iran emphasises legacy plastic pollution and the need for financial and technical support for developing countries. Kuwait and others express caution about expanding the treaty’s mandate too far, raising questions about overlap with other international health and environment frameworks.
India is now among the top five countries globally most affected by climate-related disasters. According to the India Meteorological Department and the Centre for Science and Environment, the country witnessed 314 extreme weather events in 2023 alone, resulting in over 3,000 fatalities and impacting nearly 2.5 crore people across 22 states. From flash floods and urban deluges to heatwaves and cyclones, the scale and frequency of such events are no longer exceptional — they’re a regular part of our reality. And yet, our insurance preparedness has not kept pace. Despite rising awareness and growing policy adoption, a large number of Indian households remain underinsured or incorrectly insured for the climate risks they actually face. Too often, policyholders assume that having an insurance plan automatically ensures protection. But in the wake of a disaster, many find out — too late — that their policy excludes the very thing they needed it for. Extreme Weather Is No Longer an Exception From Guwahati to Gurugram, India is facing a new normal: ● Monsoon rains flooding major urban centres like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru ● Heatwaves breaking decades-old records in states like Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh ● Cyclones like Michaung and Biparjoy disrupting lives and infrastructure across eastern and western coasts
Larsen & Toubro's Rajpura Thermal Power Plant has achieved an emission facto ..Parth Kumar, a Programme Manager at CSE said, “The benchmark set by the Rajpura
Nilakshi Joshi’s day starts early. Every morning, she and her six-year-old son walk from their home in Shivaji Nagar, a massive cluster of slums in the east of Mumbai, to the nearest bus stop to board a red bus at 7 am. The bus is operated by Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport, the city’s public bus company. Joshi and her son travel 5 km to his school, after which she returns home. A few hours later, at 11 am, she repeats this journey to pick him up. Like Joshi, Delhi resident Ramvati also relies entirely on the bus system for her daily commutes. Every morning, she travels around 2 km in a low-floor bus run by the Delhi Transport Corporation, from the densely built colony of Tughlaqabad Extension in south-east Delhi to high-rise apartment buildings where she is a domestic worker. She takes a bus back home at around 1.30 pm to pick her son up and drop him off at tuition classes after school. She waits an hour there, then heads back home with him. Both Ramvati and Joshi’s waits at their bus stops should not exceed 20 minutes, according to the timetables of the transport corporations of these cities. But when Scroll met them in late July, Joshi ended up waiting for 45 minutes before her bus arrived, and Ramvati for around an hour. Both said such delays were common. “I would have reached home by now had I gone walking, instead of all this waiting,” said Ramvati. But walking 2 km with her young son would not be easy. “If the bus comes on schedule, it would be so easy for us,” she said. Joshi said with the delays piling up, her commute ends up taking three to four hours of her day. But despite the poor service, the bus is the only feasible option for many residents. In Delhi, commuters such as Ramvati continue to use them because buses are free for women and cheaper than the metro and shared autos. In Mumbai, they are crucial because they have a wide network that extends deep into residential colonies – they also act as feeder transportation to local railway stations. The train is the backbone of public transport in the city, used by 70 lakh commuters each day. The struggle that Joshi and Ramvati face in their daily commutes is reflected in stark statistics: ridership numbers in both cities have dropped sharply. In Mumbai, since 2011, daily ridership has fallen by 44% – from 35.8 lakh to just over 20 lakh. In Delhi, meanwhile, between 2019 and 2023, daily ridership fell around 19% from 51.02 lakh to 41.41 lakh. Even as the two cities have taken different approaches to managing their fleets, the availability of buses in both has fallen short of the benchmark set by the union ministry of housing and urban affairs. According to this standard, there should be 60 buses for every one lakh residents for cities with populations of more than 20 lakh, such as Mumbai and Delhi. But Delhi has only around 45 buses for every lakh residents and Mumbai, around 21.6 for every lakh, said Sayan Roy, who works at the sustainable mobility programme at the Centre for Science and Environment. “The buses have not been able to match the increasing populations arriving in cities of Mumbai and Delhi,” Roy said. This is the second part in our ‘Urban Immobility’ series. Mumbai’s declining fleet In fact in Mumbai, not only have the number of buses failed to match the rise in population, the number has actually fallen by around 40% since 2011. That year, the fleet consisted of 4,385 buses. Today, only 2,594 buses are in operation, data from the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport shows. Part of the reason the government has cut fleet numbers is the poor financial health of the corporation: it saw losses rise from Rs 336 crore in 2021-’22 to Rs 1,038 crore in 2022-’23, according to a report by Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST, a citizen-led group for bus commuters. “This is one of the reasons why state undertakings are not able to buy more buses to improve poor frequency,” said Roy. The fact that the service was “loss-making” was also a key reason why the municipal corporation, which provides financial aid to Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport, in 2017 proposed a new model of “wet-leasing”. Under this arrangement, it would pay private operators to provide it with buses, as well as drivers, conductors and other staff and services. Today, of the city’s total fleet, 16% are owned by the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport, while 84% are privately owned. Privatisation “is where the problem began”, said Hussain Indorewala, an urban researcher, who is a member of Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST. Indorewala explained that with this change, services deteriorated. Since the government was paying private players a minimal fee, he said, the operators have been cutting corners and compromising on services and maintenance to widen their profit margins. This has increased disruptions, he said. An Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST report published in November 2024 noted that the bus system had been seeing “defaulting contractors, breakdown of buses, discontented workers, inconvenienced commuters, inadequate and poor quality services, and an incapacitated public sector”. Jagnarayan Gupta, general secretary of BEST Kamgar Sanghatana, a union of drivers and conductors, said private operators also do not have adequate numbers of drivers and conductors. “Sometimes buses are delayed or cancelled due to non availability of staff,” he said. “And bus breakdowns have become even more frequent.”
We have normalised congestion in our lives. We stand, sit, wait, fume, curse, groan, and get angry and frustrated. By the time we get to our destination, we are so exhausted that it feels as though the day is over before it has even begun. Each day, our journey ends in helplessness. In this daily grind, what we often fail to count for are the hours of our lives we lose — time away from family, friends, or even leisure. We discuss it endlessly — being stuck in traffic has taken over our conversations; yet, what is surprising is that we do not really understand why this is happening or what needs to be done. The only solutions in our mind are going signal-free, building flyovers, and widening roads. But the jam stays, and even gets worse. My colleagues at the Centre for Science and Environment and Down To Earth have deconstructed congestion in 50 cities and towns across the country. They asked a simple question: How does India move? The answer, unsurprisingly, is that it often does not. City after city, people told us of their daily struggle to commute. Whether small or large, metro or hill town, the difference between peak and non-peak travel times is double or more in most cities; in other words, it takes twice as long to reach your destination during rush hours. In some cities, like Delhi and Bengaluru, the peak period is getting extended — so much so that roads are now gridlocked beyond office hours. We also know that the more the congestion, the more the air pollution, with vehicles idling on roads emitting toxic fumes. So, congestion is not only taking away our time: It is also adding to the stress and health burden from air contaminants that reduce our life spans. It is bad. And it must not be normalised. To beat the trauma of congestion, we need to understand its political economy. People are increasingly shifting to private transport — two-wheelers or cars — for their daily commute. This means that even as cities add road infrastructure and flyovers, cars, the most inefficient users of road space, fill them up. Delhi, for instance, registers over 500 new cars every day. This is despite all the congestion and the fact that cars account for only 7-11 per cent of daily trips in the cities we surveyed. In Bengaluru, another city notorious for congestion, only 7 per cent of total trips are with cars, according to the data from the city’s comprehensive mobility plan. The question, then, is this: Where and how will we make space for the remaining 80-90 per cent of trips, if they are made using cars? What dominates the commute in cities are two-wheelers — 30 to even 40 per cent of daily trips are by this mode. But what is worrying is that two-wheelers are losing ground to cars in smaller cities. This is probably because, unlike in metros, where people prefer two-wheelers due to congestion (they can move faster), there appears to be more space in sub-million cities, and so cars fill the roads. Congestion then rears its ugly head. This leapfrog augurs bad news. The fatal flaw is the lack of public transport modes in cities. Not only are public buses few and far between, but what cripples this system is its unreliability — ironically, the result of congestion itself. As buses get stuck in traffic, they get delayed, and people shift away from them. In cities with highly efficient metro systems, there is some relief for commuters. But here, the question of convenience and affordability arises, as people count not just the cost of the metro ticket but also the fares for rickshaws, taxis or other last-mile options they take to get to the station and eventual destination. This is also because our roads are not designed for pedestrians and so, the walk to the station is just not safe or possible. Amid all this, what is growing exponentially and adding to the mayhem on our roads is the informal para-transit systems — from conventional auto-rickshaws to the assembled battery rickshaws and mini-buses. This mode is crucial, since it provides last-mile connectivity and serves as a preferred and affordable travel option for millions in cities. However, because it is largely unplanned and unregulated, it adds to congestion. But the fact is we cannot fix transport in our cities unless we recognise these informal systems and integrate them into our planning and regulatory frameworks. What, then, is the way out of this jam? We know what needs to be done — it is a no-brainer. More mass transport systems, from buses to metros to trams, that can move people efficiently. More walkable sidewalks so that last-mile connections can be made safely. More integrated para-transit systems so that there is regulation on the movement of these vehicles. Stricter penalties for violating traffic rules, especially for illegal and unmanaged parking, which happens just about anywhere. We know all this. But we are still not getting our act together; instead, we just keep hoping that the next road widening will make the nightmare go away. Let’s wake up. Let’s smell the traffic. The author is at the Centre for Science and Environment.sunita@cseindia.org, X: @sunitanar
A recent Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) study identifies vehicular emissions as the leading cause of Delhi’s winter air pollution, surpassing stubble burning and road dust. With vehicles emi... Read more at: https://www.hrkatha.com/industry-news/routematic-accelerates-green-mobility-with-ev-rollout-in-delhi-ncr-2/ In a significant step toward building sustainable urban mobility and addressing the pressing issue of air pollution in the National Capital Region, Routematic, India’s leading AI-powered corporate com...
We have “normalised” congestion in our lives. We stand, sit, wait, fume, even curse, groan, get angry and frustrated, and by the time we get to our destination, we are so exhausted that it feels as though the day is over before it has even begun. Each day, our journey ends in helplessness. In this daily grind, what we often fail to count are the hours of our lives we lose—time away from our family, friends, or even just leisure. We discuss it endlessly—being stuck in traffic has taken over our conversations—yet what is surprising is that we do not really understand why this is happening or what needs to be done. The only solution in our mind is going signal-free, building flyovers and widening roads. But still, the jam stays; gets worse even.