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Surat claims top spot in India’s air quality rankings

Surat has emerged as the leading city in India for air quality improvements, followed by Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) and Agra (Uttar Pradesh). These three cities with population of more than one million, have topped the Swachh Vayu Survekshan (clean air survey) Awards for clean air, the government announced on Saturday. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma presented the awards to the best-performing cities where the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) is being implemented. In the category for population between 300,000 and 1 million, Firozabad (Uttar Pradesh), Amravati (Maharashtra) and Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh) were recognised as the top three and for cities with fewer than 300,000 people, the toppers were Raebareli (Uttar Pradesh), Nalgonda (Telangana) and Nalagarh (Himachal Pradesh). Municipal commissioners of winning cities were awarded cash prizes, trophies and certificates. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) reported that 51 cities have shown a reduction in PM10 levels by more than 20 per cent compared to the base year 2017-18, with 21 of these cities achieving a reduction of over 40 per cent. According to the NCAP assessment document, sectors given weightage include biomass and municipal solid waste burning, road dust, dust from construction and demolition waste, vehicular emissions and industrial emissions, among others. Experts have previously noted that NCAP does not focus on combustion sources and may not be effectively curbing toxic emissions. A Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) assessment released in July found that road dust mitigation has been the primary focus of NCAP, which was launched in 2019 as the first effort to set clean air targets for 131 polluted cities and reduce particulate pollution nationally. The assessment revealed that 64 per cent of the total funds (Rs 10,566 crore) has been allocated to road paving, widening, pothole repair, water sprinkling and mechanical sweepers. Only 14.51 per cent of funding has been used for controlling biomass burning, 12.63 per cent for reducing vehicular pollution and a mere 0.61 per cent for controlling industrial pollution. "The primary focus of the funding is thus road dust mitigation," the assessment said. NCAP aims to reduce particulate pollution by up to 40 per cent by 2025-26 from the base year of 2019-20. It is India's first performance-linked funding programme to improve air quality. Originally, NCAP was planned to tackle both PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in the 131 non-attainment cities. In practice, only PM10 concentration has been considered for performance assessment. PM2.5, the more harmful fraction largely emitted from combustion sources, has been neglected, according to CSE findings.

जमीनी हकीकत: वायनाड आपदा, बदलें पर्यावरण संरक्षण तरीका

केरल के वायनाड जिले में भयावह भूस्खलन की घटना से मची तबाही के लिए आखिर कौन और क्या चीजें जिम्मेदार है? इस घटना में कई लोगों को अपनी जान गंवानी पड़ी। यह प्रश्न महत्त्वपूर्ण है, भले ही इस आपदा को हुए कई सप्ताह बीत चुके हैं और अब हमारा ध्यान भी दूसरी विनाशकारी आपदाओं की तरफ है। जलवायु परिवर्तन इस तरह की आपदा में पूरी तरह भले ही नहीं लेकिन अहम भूमिका निभा रहा है जो पूरी तरह से प्राकृतिक आपदा भी नहीं है। पश्चिमी घाटों का यह क्षेत्र पहले से ही नाजुक स्थिति में था और मानव गतिविधियों के कारण यह आपदा के लिहाज से जोखिम की परिस्थितियों से जूझ रहा था। लेकिन दूसरा प्रश्न, जो स्पष्ट रूप से मुझे परेशान करता है वह यह है कि इन जोखिम क्षेत्रों में रहने वाले लोग संरक्षण के प्रयासों का विरोध क्यों करते हैं? जबकि उन्हें मालूम है कि वे उसी पेड़ की शाखा को काट रहे हैं जिस पर वे बैठे हैं! ऐसे में क्या किया जा सकता है? पहले वायनाड में विकास की गतिविधियों के बारे में समझते हैं। ‘डाउन टू अर्थ’ में मेरी सहयोगी, रोहिणी कृष्णमूर्ति और पुल्हा रॉय ने इसकी जांच की और पाया है कि वहां आपदा के पूरे आसार बन चुके थे। भूस्खलन मुंडक्कई के पास हुआ जो वेलेरिमला गांव का एक वार्ड है। मैं इस बात की ओर आपका ध्यान दिलाना चाहती हूं क्योंकि 2013 में के. कस्तूरीरंगन समिति की रिपोर्ट में इस गांव की पहचान पारिस्थितिकी रूप से जोखिम वाले क्षेत्र के रूप में की गई थी। मैं केंद्रीय पर्यावरण मंत्रालय द्वारा गठित इस समिति की सदस्य थी जिसे पश्चिमी घाटों के लिए स्थायी और समान विकास के लिए चौतरफा और समग्र रणनीति पेश करनी थी। इसने सिफारिश की कि इस तरह के सभी गांव जहां 20 प्रतिशत से अधिक क्षेत्र पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र के लिहाज से संवेदनशील हैं, वहां विकास की गतिविधियों पर सख्त नियंत्रण होना चाहिए क्योंकि इससे ये क्षेत्र ज्यादा असुरक्षित होंगे। इसी वजह से इसने इस क्षेत्र में विशेषतौर पर खनन और पत्थर की खदानों सहित कई विध्वंसक गतिविधियों के विरोध में सिफारिश की। नवंबर 2013 में मंत्रालय ने यह रिपोर्ट स्वीकार की और पर्यावरण संरक्षण अधिनियम की धारा 5 के तहत एक निर्देश जारी किया, जिसमें एक बड़े क्षेत्र (60,000 वर्ग किमी) को पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र के लिहाज से संवेदनशील क्षेत्र घोषित किया गया और खदानों तथा पत्थर के खनन सहित कुछ गतिविधियों पर प्रतिबंध लगा दिया गया। हालांकि केरल ने अपनी समिति के निष्कर्षों का हवाला देते हुए संशोधन के लिए कहा है जिसमें यह तर्क दिया गया था कि पूरे गांव को पारिस्थितिकी के लिहाज से असुरक्षित चिह्नित नहीं किया जा सकता है क्योंकि यहां दूसरी गतिविधियां भी होती हैं जो रोकी नहीं जानी चाहिए। अब आप इसके आशय को समझें। पुल्हा ने वायनाड में खनन स्थलों की उपग्रह से जारी तस्वीरों को कस्तूरीरंगन रिपोर्ट द्वारा पारिस्थितिक रूप से संवेदनशील क्षेत्रों के रूप में पहचाने गए 13 गांवों के मानचित्र के साथ मिलाकर देखा। नूलपुझा गांव में छह खनन स्थल हैं, जो सभी ‘वन’ के रूप में चिह्नित क्षेत्र में हैं। आगे की जांच और भी भयावह है। रोहिणी ने अपने शोध में पाया कि 2017 में, केरल ने अपनी लघु खनिज रियायत नियमों में संशोधन किया और किसी आवासीय भवन, वन भूमि या पहाड़ी ढलान से 50 मीटर से अधिक की दूरी पर विस्फोटकों का उपयोग करने की अनुमति दी। इसका शाब्दिक अर्थ है किसी के घर के पिछले हिस्से में विस्फोट करने का अधिकार मिल जाना और पहाड़ियों को अस्थिर करने की स्थिति बनाना। अब ऐसे में हमें आश्चर्य क्यों होता है कि जब इस क्षेत्र में अत्यधिक बारिश होती है तब यहां बड़े पैमाने की तबाही की स्थितियां नहीं बनेंगी? इसमें कोई संदेह नहीं कि वायनाड भूस्खलन एक मानव निर्मित आपदा है। सवाल यह है कि हम क्या कर रहे हैं? इन क्षेत्रों के लोग माधव गाडगिल समिति और बाद में कस्तूरीरंगन समिति द्वारा निर्धारित संरक्षण की प्रक्रिया के खिलाफ हैं। मैंने जब इस क्षेत्र की यात्रा की तब मैंने भी ऐसा देखा था। लोग सड़कों पर उतर आए थे और उन नीतियों के खिलाफ नारेबाजी कर रहे थे जो संरक्षण को बढ़ावा देता। आप यह तर्क दे सकते हैं कि वे कुछ निहित हितों से प्रभावित हैं। लेकिन तथ्य यह है कि उनका मानना है कि अगर इस क्षेत्र को ‘पारिस्थितिकी के लिहाज से संवेदनशील’ घोषित कर दिया गया तब सरकार उनके बागान, पौधरोपण आदि की प्रक्रिया पर अपना नियंत्रण कर लेगी और खेती के तरीके पर भी प्रतिबंध लग सकते हैं। लोगों का संदेह इसलिए भी है कि हमने अब तक आधिकारिक आदेश और समितियों के माध्यम से संरक्षण किए हैं। साथ ही खनन जैसी कुछ गतिविधियों पर प्रतिबंध लगाने का मतलब यह है कि उनके लिए आजीविका का नुकसान होगा। हमें भविष्य की नीतियां बनाते वक्त भी इन बातों का ध्यान रखना होगा। हमें जलवायु जोखिम के चलते पर्यावरण प्रबंधन करने का तरीका बदलना होगा और अगर हम इसमें सफलता चाहते हैं तब हमें संरक्षण की प्रक्रिया में भी बदलाव लाना होगा। फिलहाल तो हमें यह भी सोचना होगा कि क्या नहीं किया जा सकता है और यह इस आधार पर है कि लोग जैविक दबाव में हैं और इसलिए पारिस्थितिकी के लिए हानिकारक गतिविधियों पर अवश्य प्रतिबंध लगाया जाना चाहिए। यह सही कदम हो सकता है लेकिन यह भी एक तथ्य है कि भारत में हमारे वन और अन्य पारिस्थितिकी रूप से संवेदनशील क्षेत्र में ही लोगों के आवास की जगहें मौजूद हैं और यह केवल जंगली क्षेत्र नहीं है। इन क्षेत्रों की रक्षा के लिए, हमें ऐसे संरक्षण की जरूरत है जो समावेशी हो और सभी समुदायों को अपने प्रयास के साथ इसमें भागीदारी करने के लिए प्रोत्साहन दे। यही कारण है कि कस्तूरीरंगन रिपोर्ट में भी पारिस्थितिकी रूप से संवेदनशील क्षेत्र के रूप में चिह्नित गांवों के लिए एक हरित-विकास पैकेज की सिफारिश की गई जिसके तहत पारिस्थितिकी सेवाओं के लिए भुगतान, पेड़ काटने पर रोक या विनाशकारी विकास पर प्रतिबंध लगाने की आवश्यकता बताई गई। इसमें लोगों को संरक्षण के लिए भुगतान करने की बात भी थी। ऐसे में यह महत्वपूर्ण है कि हम हरित आजीविका के साधनों जैसे कि कॉफी या चाय के स्थायी बागानों से लेकर इको-टूरिज्म के आधार पर बनी विकास रणनीतियों पर काम करें। हमें यह भी सीखना होगा कि लोगों की जमीन पर और उनकी भागीदारी के साथ संरक्षण कैसे किया जाए। जलवायु परिवर्तन के इस दौर में वायनाड के सबक स्पष्ट हैंः सीख लें और बदलाव लाएं या फिर नष्ट होने के लिए तैयार हों। (लेखिका सेंटर फॉर साइंस ऐंड एनवायरनमेंट से जुड़ी हैं)

‘Extremely serious’: India tops global plastic waste emissions with 9.3 million tonnes, study shows

India is now the world’s biggest plastic polluter, responsible for nearly one-fifth of global plastic emissions, according to a new global study highlighting the growing environmental crisis in the world’s most populous country. Experts warn that the country’s lack of infrastructure for proper waste collection and management is a primary cause of the plastic crisis and, despite attempts at regulation, policies remain fragmented and difficult to enforce. The study, published in the scientific journal Nature on Wednesday by researchers from Britain’s University of Leeds, found that of the 50.2 million metric tonnes of plastic emitted into the environment annually, India accounted for about 9.3 million tonnes. The researchers behind the study, which provides a comprehensive analysis of global macroplastic pollution, suggest that India’s contribution to plastic emissions may still be an underestimated figure. “The numbers represent a significant portion of the material generated in India. The amount of municipal solid waste burned in India is equivalent to that of the next four biggest waste-burning nations – Indonesia, Nigeria, China and Russia,” Ed Cook, one of the researchers, told This Week in Asia. While earlier studies identified China as the world’s leading plastic polluter, coordinated efforts by Beijing have significantly reduced the country’s emissions in recent years. China accounted for 2.8 million tonnes of plastic waste emissions, according to the study. “China has invested heavily in municipal solid waste collection and treatment in the last 15 years, which has had a large effect on plastic pollution mitigation. However, it is worth remembering that, in terms of wealth, China is very close to becoming a high-income country, whereas India is still in the lower-income bracket. It would be challenging for India to follow the same path as China because it probably doesn’t have the resources to do so,” Cook said. “We do not make systematically assessed recommendations in our paper, but we do know that the main source of pollution in India is from lack of waste collection services – so if India is going to focus on something, that’s probably the best place to start.” India’s plastic conundrum India’s plastic-related policies are still in their infancy, analysts say, with enforcement agencies often lacking the authority to strictly impose regulations or penalise violators. With multiple levels of government – federal, state and local – introducing their frameworks, the implementation of pollution-related schemes is hampered by the need for large-scale coordination, which remains largely elusive. For example, the Indian government banned 19 categories of single-use plastics in 2022. However, enforcement has been inconsistent and remains far from effective. Penalties for using banned single-use plastics range from 200 Indian rupees (US$2.40) for local street vendors to 10,000 rupees for large shopkeepers, but are rarely imposed. Experts agree that the pervasive plastic crisis presents a monumental challenge for lawmakers. They argue that certain polluting sectors require greater scrutiny and that industry-specific policies could help address the issue. “The plastic pollution in India is extremely serious. Single-use plastics are the most avoidable and worst form of plastics. The most serious offenders are the Fast Moving Consumer Goods segment,” said Swathi Seshadri, director of research and team lead for Oil and Gas at the New Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Financial Accountability. Seshadri also highlighted plastic waste as a contributing factor to the severe flooding seen in recent years. “Small and big plastic single-use, throw-away sachets clog water bodies, rivers and natural water pathways, causing severe waterlogging and eventually the floods we see,” she said. Across India, both urban and rural areas are grappling with the environmental impacts of improper plastic disposal and the overuse of disposable materials. Recent industry reports suggest only a dismal portion of the plastic waste is recycled. “Waste needs to be segregated, collected, and disposed of appropriately. It’s concerning that even the country’s capital does not segregate waste properly. Instead, mixed waste ends up in dumpsites,” Seshadri said. Rajesh, a vegetable vendor in Bangalore, said he cannot afford paper bags that cost nearly triple that of plastic bags. “I know plastic bags are bad but I have no other option. This is the cheapest packing option available for me,” he said, urging consumers to bring in their bags. Independent analysts point to the massive expansion of oil refineries and petrochemical plants – responsible for producing plastics on an industrial scale for various sectors – as the main source of the plastic pollution crisis in India. “The plastic pollution problem in India is as bad as it can get since India is home to the world’s largest petrochemical plant,” said Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh, programme manager at the Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment. Nearly all chemicals used in plastic production are derived from fossil fuels. India currently has 21 petrochemical plants across 13 states and plans for significant expansion in the coming years, according to the latest budget figures. “India has made some strides in the downstream of plastic, especially waste management, however, the infrastructure and technologies are far from what is needed for a country generating waste at the scale at which we are generating,” Singh said. “The production aspect is the weakest link in the plastic life cycle, since the larger environmental policies lack government intervention.” The plastic industry is “largely self-glorified”, according to Singh, as disclosures of emission or production figures are voluntary and there is no independent body to verify the data filed by the companies. Singh called for targeted policy initiatives, including the removal of subsidies for plastic manufacturers, baseline health surveys near new petrochemical plants, and epidemiological studies of populations living around heavily polluting plants, to urgently address the crisis.

Surat Claims Top Spot In India's Air Quality Rankings

Surat has emerged as the leading city in India for air quality improvements, followed by Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) and Agra (Uttar Pradesh).These three cities with population of more than one million, have topped the Swachh Vayu Survekshan (clean air survey) Awards for clean air, the government announced on Saturday. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma presented the awards to the best-performing cities where the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) is being implemented. In the category for population between 300,000 and 1 million, Firozabad (Uttar Pradesh), Amravati (Maharashtra) and Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh) were recognised as the top three and for cities with fewer than 300,000 people, the toppers were Raebareli (Uttar Pradesh), Nalgonda (Telangana) and Nalagarh (Himachal Pradesh).Municipal commissioners of winning cities were awarded cash prizes, trophies and certificates. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) reported that 51 cities have shown a reduction in PM10 levels by more than 20 per cent compared to the base year 2017-18, with 21 of these cities achieving a reduction of over 40 per cent. According to the NCAP assessment document, sectors given weightage include biomass and municipal solid waste burning, road dust, dust from construction and demolition waste, vehicular emissions and industrial emissions, among others. Experts have previously noted that NCAP does not focus on combustion sources and may not be effectively curbing toxic emissions.A Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) assessment released in July found that road dust mitigation has been the primary focus of NCAP, which was launched in 2019 as the first effort to set clean air targets for 131 polluted cities and reduce particulate pollution nationally. The assessment revealed that 64 per cent of the total funds (Rs 10,566 crore) has been allocated to road paving, widening, pothole repair, water sprinkling and mechanical sweepers. Only 14.51 per cent of funding has been used for controlling biomass burning, 12.63 per cent for reducing vehicular pollution and a mere 0.61 per cent for controlling industrial pollution. "The primary focus of the funding is thus road dust mitigation," the assessment said.NCAP aims to reduce particulate pollution by up to 40 per cent by 2025-26 from the base year of 2019-20. It is India's first performance-linked funding programme to improve air quality.Originally, NCAP was planned to tackle both PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in the 131 non-attainment cities. In practice, only PM10 concentration has been considered for performance assessment. PM2.5, the more harmful fraction largely emitted from combustion sources, has been neglected, according to CSE findings.

Surat, Jabalpur, Agra get clean air awards

Surat, Jabalpur and Agra, cities with populations of over 1 million, have topped the Swachh Vayu Survekshan (clean air survey) Awards for clean air. Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav and Rajasthan chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma presented the awards to the best-performing cities where the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) is being implemented. In the category for populations between 300,000 and 1 million, Firozabad, Amravati and Jhansi were recognised as the top three and for cities with fewer than 300,000 people, the toppers were Raebareli, Nalgonda and Nalagarh. Municipal commissioners of winning cities were awarded cash prizes, trophies and certificates. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) reported that 51 cities have shown a reduction in PM10 levels by more than 20% compared to the base year 2017-18, with 21 of these cities achieving a reduction of over 40%. According to the NCAP assessment document, sectors given weightage include biomass and municipal solid waste burning, road dust, dust from construction and demolition waste, vehicular emissions and industrial emissions, among others. Experts have previously noted that NCAP does not focus on combustion sources and may not be effectively curbing toxic emissions. A Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) assessment released in July found that road dust mitigation has been the primary focus of NCAP, which was launched in 2019 as the first effort to set clean air targets for 131 polluted cities and reduce particulate pollution nationally. The assessment revealed that 64% of the total funds ( ₹10,566 crore) has been allocated to road paving, widening, pothole repair, water sprinkling and mechanical sweepers. Only 14.51% of funding has been used for controlling biomass burning, 12.63% for reducing vehicular pollution and a mere 0.61% for controlling industrial pollution. “The primary focus of the funding is thus road dust mitigation,” the assessment stated.

Agra generates 45 tonnes of footwear industry waste every day: CSE

The north Indian tourist city of Agra generates 45 tonnes of footwear industry waste every day, posing a huge environmental challenge, according to a new study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a New Delhi-based think tank. Agra caters to 65 per cent of domestic footwear demand and churns out 0.9 to 1 million pairs of footwear every day. The city has 6,821 footwear manufacturing units—both formal and informal. The study report was recently released by CSE in Agra at a stakeholder conference organised in association with the city’s municipal corporation. Speaking at the event about the genesis of the research study, Atin Biswas, programme director of CSE’s Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy unit, said: “CSE has been working closely with the Agra Municipal Corporation to devise solutions for managing the historic city’s municipal waste. As part of this association, CSE undertook this year-long research to assess the ground reality of footwear waste management in Agra.” “Typically, footwear waste includes a very diverse range of waste items from leather, textile (polyester, viscose), synthetic polymers (polyvinyl chloride, ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA), styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), polyurethane (PU) and thermoplastic elastomers), hazardous wastes (foam soaked in adhesive solution), cardboard, metal and fines. Of the total quantum of footwear waste generated, over 31 tonnes per day is contributed by the formal manufacturing industries; more than 13 tonnes comes from the informal manufacturers who run their businesses from homes,” said Kuldeep Choudhary, programme officer and the lead author of the CSE report. The report says that the municipal corporation is able to collect about 57 per cent of the footwear waste generated by the home-based informal sector; the remaining 43 per cent is littered across the city in drains and open spaces or event burnt. The formal manufacturing units have reportedly tied up with formal and informal waste dealers and management professionals to manage their waste. The Agra Municipal Corporation will review the report, and initiate short-, medium- and long-term actions to more efficiently manage the pre-consumer footwear waste in the city, a CSE release said.

Delhi’s traffic hot spots suffer ozone pollution: DPCC report

Dangerous concentrations of ground-level ozone (O3) gas was recorded for 56 days in Nehru Nagar in April and May 2023, for 45 days at Patparganj and 38 days at Aurobindo Marg — all traffic hot spots — according to a report dated September 2 submitted by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to the National Green Tribunal on Thursday. The highest concentration, 224.9 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3), was recorded at Nehru Nagar, located near Lajpat Nagar. This was followed by a peak average of 188.3µg/m3 at Patparganj and 175.4µg/m3 at RK Puram, according to the report. All of these exceeded the national permissible standard of 100µg/m3 for an eight-hour period. To be sure, higher concentrations of ground-level ozone cause difficulty in breathing and both long-term and short-term respiratory damage. “CPCB data shows that the Nehru Nagar, Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, Jawaharlal Stadium, Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Nehru Nagar and RK Puram saw high ozone levels, which was more than the national ambient air quality standards of 100 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) for eight hours. The ozone levels were at peak during 11am to 6pm,” DPCC’s report said. DPCC said the highly volatile gas is produced from a complex interaction between nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbon monoxide emitted from sources, such as vehicles, industries and factories. The gases undergo cyclic reactions in the presence of sunlight, producing ozone at the ground level, the pollution body said, stating both short-term and long-term measures were being taken to regulate these sources. An eight-hour analysis at 24 air quality monitoring stations in April and May 2023 found other stations exceeded permissible limits too — Mundka recorded 23 days, Alipur 29 days, Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range 32 days, Mandir Marg 25 days and RK Puram 20 days, the report said. The report comes in response to the directions of NGT to DPCC and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in April, seeking measures to reduce the impact of the gaseous pollutant, which is at its peak in summer. DPCC said action was being taken against vehicular pollution, industries, open burning and other localised combustion sources. To check on vehicular pollution, 385 transport department teams and Delhi Traffic Police teams were on the ground, with 14,294 old diesel and petrol vehicles impounded in 2023. This year, 308 such vehicles were seized, it said, adding 4.97 million PUC (pollution under control) certificates were issued in 2023 and 2.45 million so far this year. Other action includes challan on unauthorised parking and non-destined goods vehicles. Further, an action plan was put in place for 134 roads that regularly witness heavy congestion, with over 2,000 traffic personnel deployed there and to reduce emissions, an e-vehicle policy was also in place, accounting for over 14.5% of new vehicles registered in 2023, DPCC said. CAQM, in a separate submission, said it issued a comprehensive policy — with sector-wise action plans for prevention and control — to curb air pollution in the national capital region in July 2022. “The commission also issued 82 statutory directions, 15 advisories in addition to various orders/guidelines for the control of air pollution in national capital region,” CAQM said in its report dated August 30. In a study released last month, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) assessed India’s major metropolitan cities, finding Delhi-NCR the most impacted region in terms of high ground-level ozone. Between January and August, Delhi-NCR recorded 176 days of higher-than-permissible ground-level ozone.

Out of 58 FSSM plants in UP, only 40 are functional: CSE

Lucknow: UP may have made strides in the development of infrastructure for faecal sludge and septage management (FSSM), but using this infrastructure remains a cause of concern both for the department of urban development and the centre for science and environment (CSE), an independent think tank committed to the cause of the earth. The observation was a key takeaway at a high-level meeting on sustainable sanitation and lake management held here on Thursday. Consider this: Over the past few years, UP has constructed 58 FSSM plants. Of these, 40 are functional while the remaining are at different levels of development. However, in an assessment of functional units undertaken by the CSE, it was found that 20 cities including Lucknow were not able to make the most of the opportunity they had. "The capacity utilisation in most of these cities ranged between a mere 0-5%," revealed the report which was released during the event. State's mission AMRUT has issued directives to the authorities to raise their bar. CSE director general and environmentalist Sunita Narain said: "UP has taken many measures towards managing its water and wastewater. For instance, the state has constructed 58 FSSM plants, around 40 of which are already operational. The state is also focusing on groundwater management and lake rejuvenation. The next step is to ensure that these initiatives are sustainable and used optimally, so that there is reuse of treated water and sludge." The workshop saw participants from various municipal corporations, urban local bodies, Jal Nigam, besides mission director AMRUT Ajay Kumar Shukla, his deputy PK Srivastava and additional state mission director Swachh Bharat Mission Ritu Suhas. CSE also released three new reports on UP on this occasion. The report titled ‘Septage Management in Uttar Pradesh-Scaling Up and Sustainability Lessons' highlighted the interventions and transformative changes in the state's FSSM landscape. The second report was ‘Infusing New Life: Gaps and Challenges in Managing Lakes and Ponds and Groundwater in Four Selected AMRUT Cities of Uttar Pradesh'. The study looked into the challenges of lake management in urban areas. In the third report titled ‘Monitoring and Evaluation of FSTPs and STP Co-treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh', CSE conducted a study to evaluate the efficiency of 13 treatment plants in UP which treat faecal sludge and septage.

Septage management plants in 20 U.P. cities ‘underperforming’

Uttar Pradesh’s ambitious water security initiatives under the AMRUT mission are coming under scrutiny for their sustainability and effective use. An assessment has revealed that septage management plants in 20 cities, including Lucknow, are operating at only 0-5% of their capacity, officials noted in a communique issued to press. The state is investing in infrastructure development, septage management facilities, and lake rejuvenation projects to secure urban water supplies across its 762 cities. A recent workshop, ‘Towards Sustainable Sanitation and Lake Management in Uttar Pradesh’, organised by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and the Department of Urban Development (DoUD), highlighted these concerns on Thursday. The event brought together senior officials, including those from Lucknow Municipal Corporation, Nagar Palika and Jal Nigam, to discuss the progress and challenges in water management. CSE director general Sunita Narain said Uttar Pradesh has constructed 58 faecal sludge and septage management (FSSM) plants, with 40 already operational. Despite these advancements, Narain emphasised the need to ensure these facilities are both sustainable and optimally utilised. “The focus must shift towards reusing treated water and sludge to achieve the desired impact,” she said. During the workshop, CSE unveiled three critical reports on the state’s water management efforts. These reports shed light on the challenges faced by the FSSM plants and other infrastructure projects. Ajay Kumar Shukla, the state mission director of AMRUT, and Ritu Suhas, additional mission director of SBM, stressed the importance of addressing these issues. Shukla called for a broader approach beyond just beautifying water bodies, while Suhas urged the expansion of successful FSSM projects to other cities. Narain concluded by emphasising the need for improved operational and financial sustainability of treatment plants, as well as better management of lakes and wastewater reuse. The workshop underscored the ongoing challenges and the need for continued efforts to secure Uttar Pradesh’s water future.

Lessons from Wayanad tragedy

Who and what is responsible for the heart-breaking landslides that hit Wayanad district and took so many lives? This is what I had asked in my last column. The question is important even as weeks have passed and our attention has shifted to other devastating disasters. I had explained how climate change played a role in the disaster but not entirely. This already vulnerable region of the Western Ghats had been made more prone to disasters because of human activities. But then the other question, which frankly haunts me, is: Why do people who live in these fragile regions end up opposing conservation efforts? They know that they are cutting that proverbial tree branch that they are sitting on! So, what can be done?

Cold Truths: Why Action Plan Must Strike At Root Of Pollution Sources

New Delhi: Every winter, a thick haze engulfs the capital, forcing Delhiites to breathe in highly polluted air. As Delhi govt prepares to release its winter action plan to deal with toxic air, experts emphasised reducing emissions at the source level and not relying on emergency measures to counter pollution. In Sept 2023, a 15-point winter action plan was released to fight winter pollution. This year, environment minister Gopal Rai said a 21-point winter action plan will be released soon. But among the possible plan points, experts pointed out that some measures like setting up an e-waste eco park, whose construction is yet to start, and spraying of a bio-decomposer to prevent harvest stubble burning, were already found ineffective in controlling pollution last year. Experts also said the odd-even road use scheme, artificial rain and implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan which govt was considering for this year's action plan were emergency measures that would give temporary respite. A Centre for Science and Environment study established that Delhi has seen a gradual and consistent decline in its annual PM2.5 levels from 2015-17 onwards, but this trend was interrupted in 2023 as average was higher than in 2022. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE, said, "The combat strategy for winter is essentially a set of temporary enforcement measures whose scope and effectiveness remain limited. Experience has shown that only sustained systemic and infrastructure changes can make a difference in controlling pollution. For example, waste burning can be controlled only by ensuring 100% collection, segregation, material recovery and remediation of garbage." Roychowdhury said vehicular pollution, the top polluter in the city, requires year-round action aimed at reducing the number of vehicles on the road. "An ineffective pollution certification programme cannot help. Moreover, temporary measures like odd-even road rationing can reduce vehicle numbers temporarily only if implemented effectively. But this will require a massive effort to scale up public transport services, road pricing and parking restraints to cut down on vehicular trips. Such measures need to be built throughout the year," she said. "Winter action can at best help improve a limited number of enforceable measures and enable some hotspot action. The focus should be on cutting down emissions permanently at their source," added Roychowdhury. Sunil Dahiya, South Asia analyst, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, said anti-smog guns were effective only at construction sites and areas with high dust resuspension. "The shifting of industries to PNG is a good step but reducing overall emissions means stricter monitoring of alternate fuel usage, output quantum and emission load. Besides, the real-time source apportionment study can be helpful when stricter actions are taken based on results of this study to control emissions in the upwind direction," said Dahiya. He also said the loophole with the odd-even scheme was that if implemented every year, people would keep two cars with different number plates. "For odd-even, a real-time assessment should be done on how much this measure reduces petrol and diesel consumption," said Dahiya. "Simultaneously, public transportation should be strengthened for systematic change. Data on inspection and action taken daily should be in the public domain for accountability." There was a need to review how much pollution load these actions plans reduced, said Dipankar Saha, former head of Central Pollution Control Board's air laboratory. "The effectiveness of anti-smog guns and the duration for effective spraying in an area have not been studied. Sprinkling of water is a wastage of resources and it damages the road too," noted Saha. He added that there is a need for comprehensive control of emissions at source. Delhi govt did not respond to queries on the subject.

Scientists, Officials Call for Change in India’s Air Pollution Battle Plans

Fundamental policy changes aimed at fixing India’s seemingly intractable air pollution health crisis were suggested at the India Clean Air Summit (ICAS) held in Bengaluru recently. Among the dozens of presentations by air quality scientists and officials, five key elements emerged for policy action that can speed up the reduction of air pollutants. These involve: adopting an airshed approach rather than the prevalent city-centric approach; changing the core focus of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP); tackling indoor household pollution; sharply reducing combustion and black carbon emissions; and plugging data gaps with low-cost sensors and modelling. Hosted by the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), the sixth meeting of what has become a staple of the global air quality ecosystem, was attended by over 300 Indian and international scientists, government officials, policymakers, health officials, political leaders and civil society. India’s ambient air pollution, both outdoors and indoors, has been linked to over two million premature deaths annually. This includes about 170,000 children. Pollution levels have stayed in the same ballpark for the last five years, which is more than 10 times the WHO’s guidelines (see IQAir table below); in places like Delhi it is about 20 times higher. Change focus from cities to airsheds India’s main air pollution control programme, NCAP, is currently city-focused. It incentivises 131 cities to reduce pollution, and in return, these are allocated federal funds. The problem with this approach is that much of cities’ pollution comes from outside their jurisdiction, so urban local bodies (ULBs) are helpless. In a new study, CSTEP documented the emission inventory, or local sources of pollution, in 76 Indian cities, perhaps one of the largest such studies anywhere. Take, for example, Ghaziabad which borders Delhi in the east and has been identified as one of the most polluted cities in the world. The PM 2.5 pollution measures over 28,000 tonnes per year. But 95% is from the greater city area. PM 2.5 is a microscopic particulate matter pollutant which can settle deep inside the human body and is linked to multiple health disorders such as chronic lung disease, strokes, heart attacks, cancers as well as depression and hypertension. It is similar to Davangere, a small town in Karnataka. Meanwhile, for an industrial town like Kalinga Nagar in Odisha, which has large factories inside and outside city jurisdictions, the share of PM 2.5 is almost equally divided. The report points out that most of the cities will not be able to achieve NCAP’s target of reducing pollution by 40%. “Our preliminary air quality modelling results also suggest that emissions from outside the city – what we call the airshed – can also be significant contributors to urban air pollution,” said Dr R Subramanian, who heads the Air Quality Sector at CSTEP. “We need a broader, comprehensive approach that reduces emissions from the city and the airshed at large – actions that likely require national or state-level interventions and investments in systemic change to reduce fossil fuel and biofuel use in favour of clean, renewable energy. This will move us firmly towards clean air for all – for people in cities, periurban areas, and in villages across the country.” Ashish Tiwari, the top environment officer of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state and one of the most polluted, called for NCAP to drop its city-centric approach and target airsheds. “We have strongly recommended that NCAP must adopt this airshed approach. And I am happy to tell you that MoEFCC (Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change) has started mulling over it, and very soon, I think the airshed coordination committee of eight IGP states will see the light of day,” said Tiwari. Announced in 2019, NCAP’s target is to reduce up to 40% the concentration of PM 10 by 2025-26. While PM 10 is a health risk, the finer PM 2.5 pollution can be more toxic and easily defeat the human body’s defence mechanisms. At times, the larger PM 10 can be controlled using equipment like vacuuming and mist-spraying trucks used to contain road dust. There’s no silver bullet to cut air pollution, but ensuring clean cooking fuel was one step backed by many scientists and officials in India and other parts of the Global South. Currently, the use of heavily polluting fuels, like wood, coal and biomass, is widely used, which emits a “cocktail” of toxic elements, as health expert Professor Kalpana Balakrishnan, a senior WHO and ICMR official, described it. These include PM 2.5, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, benzene, sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides, among others. All this is inhaled near the polluting stove. Balakrishnan pointed out that different studies have put the share of household air pollution anywhere between 20 to 50%, which is a significant part of India’s ambient air pollution crisis. In 2016, the government launched a widely hailed programme, the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), to provide free subscriptions to a gas cylinder; some refills are free but most are paid. Studies have documented a decline in PM 2.5 exposure thanks to the Ujjwala scheme. Several experts at ICAS called for more funding to reduce costs for the beneficiaries. Women, invariably those cooking at home, prefer using a cooking gas cylinder. But the cost of refilling – about Rs 800 or $10 per cylinder – is a challenge for most low-income beneficiaries. However, there is a divergence between the government and health experts. In the current financial year, the government’s budget support for cooking gas subsidies has declined by 2.5%. Various studies have report Uttar Pradesh, which has 18 million Ujjwala beneficiaries, the highest, is banking on other ‘clean’ cooking solutions such as bio-digesters and induction cooktops, Tiwari said at ICAS. He flagged the low-income status of the beneficiaries, saying, “PMUY is actually linked with the income level of the households. So that will take time. We have to think about the intermediate solutions for clean cooking. So increased bio-gas uses can actually break down PM 2.5 by 97%, black carbon by 92%, and carbon dioxide-equivalent by 70%.” However, Balakrishnan, pointed out that there are several studies where primarily LPG (liquified petroleum gas) was used, comparing it to the use of biomass. In a “majority, or virtually all of the outcomes, the central estimate is favouring LPG. So there is very convincing evidence that the use of LPG, A, reduces exposures, B, is associated with improved health outcomes…” Reduce combustion, track super-pollutants Scientists like Dr Sarath Guttikunda, Founder and Director of Urban Emission, pointed out that another significant way to start reducing air pollution was to address the increasing combustion of fossil fuels. He presented data to show a rising trend in the production and consumption of coal, oil and gas. Monthly data shows rising production and consumption of fossil fuels. Monthly data shows rising production and consumption of fossil fuels. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director at the Centre for Science and Environment and one of the panellists at ICAS 2024, warned that some pollutants, particularly black carbon, were not being monitored enough. “Science is telling us that there are some subsets of particulate matter such as black carbon that have much more warming potential than CO2. Moreover, when they settle on snow and glaciers, they melt and result in a water security threat. They also affect cloud formation and interfere with rainfall patterns,” she said. Black carbon (BC) is strongly correlated with increased blood pressure levels, a high-risk factor for cardiovascular disease and strokes. It affects pregnant women and has been linked to low birth weight. Because it has a short lifespan of about a week or two in the atmosphere and yet so many devastating effects, it is known as a super-pollutant. Common sources of BC include brick kilns, burning waste, incomplete combustion of fuels, forest fires, and burning of crop stubble. There are policies and programmes in place to reduce these, but they need to be accelerated.

CSE Recommends Pathways For Upcoming Indian Carbon Market

As India is about to come up with national compliance-based carbon market, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has prepared a clear roadmap to help it along. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget 2024 had announced that a plan and appropriate regulations will be put in place for the transition of hard-to-abate sectors from a Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) mode to an Indian Carbon Market (ICM) mode. CSE in its report titled The Indian Carbon Market: Pathways towards an effective mechanism said that India has pledged to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets by 2030, and aims for net-zero emissions by 2070, in line with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) guidelines. To meet these ambitious goals, the country has set out on a pathway to develop and launch its own national compliance-based carbon market. CSE director general Sunita Narain said, "The upcoming Indian Carbon Market scheme should kick start with a large coverage of the country's emissions. A single nation-wide carbon market scheme for carbon-intensive sectors should be brought in to ensure effective implementation and avoid any complexity. For this scheme to be effective, it also needs to ensure a high carbon price, data integrity and transparency." The report has analysed four Emission Trading Schemes (ETS) in use worldwide: the European Union Emission Trading System, the Korean ETS, the Chinese ETS, and the Surat ETS. India's Perform, Achieve, and Trade (PAT) scheme, which specified energy reduction targets over three-year cycles, has also been assessed as it sets the base for the upcoming Indian Carbon Market scheme.

Agra Footwear Industry Generates 45 Tonne Waste Every Day, Poses Big Challenge: CSE Study

Agra -- the famous city of Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh – a footwear manufacturing hub, caters to 65% of domestic demand, generates 45 tonnes of waste every day, posing a huge environmental challenge, says a new study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a New Delhi-based think-tank. Such a large amount of daily waste has opened up a new front in the city’s struggle against environmental pollution and ecological mayhem. “Agra’s claim to fame also rests on the city being the largest footwear manufacturing hub in India. Catering to about 65 per cent of India’s domestic demand, the city churns out 0.9 to one million pairs of footwear every day. Such a scale of production comes with its own set of challenges – the city produces about 45 tonnes of footwear waste in a day”, the CSE report said. This is in addition to 978 tonnes of municipal solid waste generated every day, comprising wet, dry, domestic hazardous and sanitary wastes. According to the report, Agra has 6,821 footwear manufacturing units – both formal and informal. “Typically, footwear waste includes a very diverse range of waste items from leather, textile (polyester, viscose), synthetic polymers (polyvinyl chloride, ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA), styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), polyurethane (PU) and thermoplastic elastomers), hazardous wastes (foam soaked in adhesive solution), cardboard, metal and fines. Of the total quantum of footwear waste generated, over 31 tonne per day is contributed by the formal manufacturing industries; more than 13 tonne comes from the informal manufacturers who run their businesses from homes,” said Kuldeep Choudhary, programme officer and the lead author of the CSE report. Abhikaam Singh Pippal, president of the Juta Dastkar Federation, said, “We must understand the challenges faced by home-based shoe manufacturing units. Their working capital is very small and they operate in very small areas with limited space for storage of discarded footwear waste. We welcome initiatives for capacity building of these units to enable them to operate an integrated waste management facility. The Agra Municipal Corporation (AMC) and CSE may jointly facilitate such a process. We need support from the government to provide advanced machines for these units to reduce their waste generation.” Atin Biswas, programme director of CSE’s Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy unit, said: “CSE has been working closely with the Agra Municipal Corporation to devise solutions for managing the historic city’s municipal waste. As part of this association, CSE undertook this year-long research to assess the ground reality of footwear waste management in Agra.” Biswas added: “The CSE team mapped manufacturing units, estimated footwear waste generation, did characterisation studies to quantify the presence of different footwear waste fractions in terms of quantity and percentage, determined their calorific values, gained an understanding of current management and disposal practices and explored potential solutions. The result is this comprehensive report – Footwear Waste Management in Agra: A Ground Assessment.” The report says that AMC is able to collect about 57% of the footwear waste generated by the home-based informal sector; the remaining 43% is littered across the city in drains and open spaces or event burnt. The formal manufacturing units have reportedly tied up with formal and informal waste dealers and management professionals to manage their waste. “The larger share of Agra's footwear industry is informal in nature and operates under challenging conditions, but this presents a unique opportunity to uplift these communities. By providing financial aid, hands-on support in transitioning to sustainable practices, and raising awareness about the impact of poor waste management, we can foster positive change. Many organisations working on the ground with right kind of support from the government, can play a crucial role in driving this transformation towards a more sustainable future,” said Choudhary. Biswas said: “Considering the scale of production and footwear waste generation in Agra, special mechanisms including additional funding and infrastructure must be provided to help the municipal corporation manage this waste. More research is needed to explore the recycling-reuse-repurpose potential of the footwear waste fractions to create a business ecosystem.” The CSE report has recommended a that comprehensive database (inventory) of all footwear manufacturing units in Agra (both formal and informal) be made and all units be geotagged and registered. The existing bye-laws need to be amended to address footwear waste management, covering aspects like collection, transportation, processing, disposal, fines and penalty clauses. It further stressed the need to implement strict monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to penalise units that dispose of waste improperly, such as dumping in drains, open plots or unauthorised areas. The report also called for developing protocols for managing hazardous waste. Promote the reuse of footwear waste materials to create other products (such as keychains or doormats) and support upcycling projects through self-help groups or local industries.

Wayanad tragedy: Who is responsible for the heart – breaking landslides?

In this age of climate change, the lessons from Wayanad are clear: Learn and change, or perish! Who and what is responsible for the heart-breaking landslides that hit Wayanad district and took so many lives? The question is important even as weeks have passed and our attention has shifted to other devastating disasters. I have explained in previous writings how climate change plays a role in such not so natural disasters but not entirely. This already vulnerable region of the Western Ghats had been made more prone to disasters because of human activities. But then the other question, which frankly haunts me, is: Why do people who live in these fragile regions end up opposing conservation efforts? They know that they are cutting that proverbial tree branch that they are sitting on! So, what can be done? Let’s first understand the developmental activities in Wayanad. My colleagues at Down To Earth, Rohini Krishnamurthy and Pulaha Roy, have investigated this and found that this disaster was waiting to happen. The landslide occurred near Mundakkai, a ward of Vellerimala village. I am pointing this out because this village was identified as an ecologically sensitive area in the 2013 report by the K Kasturirangan committee. I was a member of this committee, set up by the Union environment ministry to come up with an “all-round and holistic approach for sustainable and equitable development” for the Western Ghats. It recommended that all such villages where over 20 per cent of the area was ecologically sensitive should have strict controls on developmental activities that would make the area more vulnerable. This is why it recommended against allowing destructive activities, in particular mining and stone quarries, in these areas. In November 2013, the ministry accepted this report and issued a directive under Section 5 of the Environment Protection Act, demarcating a large area (60,000 square km) as ecologically sensitive and banning certain activities, including mining and stone quarrying. However, Kerala asked for an amendment, citing the finding of its own committee, which had argued that an entire village could not be demarcated as ecologically sensitive because it had other activities that should not be stopped. Now look at the implications of this. Pulaha superimposed the satellite imagery of quarrying sites in Wayanad on the map of the 13 villages identified by the Kasturirangan report for protection as ecologically sensitive areas. He found 15 quarrying sites across these 13 villages. One village, Noolpuzha, has six quarrying sites, all in the area demarcated as “forest”. And it gets worse. Rohini found, to her horror, that in 2017, Kerala amended its minor mineral concession rules and permitted the use of explosives anywhere beyond 50 metres of a residential building or in forest land or hill slopes. This literally means blasting in one’s backyard and creating conditions to destablise the hills. Why are we then surprised that when extreme rain hits the region, it leaves behind this scale of devastation? The Wayanad landslide is a human-made disaster.The question is: What do we do? In these areas, people are against protection as laid down first by the Madhav Gadgil committee and then the Kasturirangan committee. I saw this when I travelled through the region. People were out on the streets, shouting slogans against policies that would promote conservation. You may argue that they are swayed by vested interests. But the fact is, they believed that if the region was declared “ecologically sensitive”, governments would take over their plantations; there would be restrictions on the way they practised agriculture. It was partly because of the way we have done conservation through fiats and committees, but also because banning certain activities like quarrying would mean loss of livelihoods for them. We must keep these in mind while drafting our future policies. We have to change the way we manage our environment because of climate risks, and if we want to succeed in this, we will have to change the way we practise conservation. Currently, it is about what cannot be done — it is based on the premise that people are the biotic pressure and so activities detrimental to the ecology must be banned. This may be right, but it is also a fact that in India, our forests and other ecologically sensitive areas are the habitats of people — not just wilderness areas. To protect these areas, we need conservation that is inclusive and provides communities with tangible incentives to be partners in the efforts. This is why the Kasturirangan report recommended a green-growth package for villages demarcated as ecologically sensitive — from debt for nature swaps to payment of ecological services where trees could not be cut or destructive development needed to be banned. People would get paid for conservation. But it is also important that we evolve development strategies built on green livelihoods — from sustainable plantations of coffee or tea to eco-tourism. We need to learn how to do conservation in people’s lands and with their involvement. In this age of climate change, the lessons from Wayanad are clear: Learn and change, or perish. (The writer is Director General, Centre for Science & Environment, New Delhi and an environmental activist)