• Urban Lab

CSE Report on Blue Sky Day:एनकैप का खुलासा पीएम 2.5… स्वच्छ कार्यक्रम में शामिल होने के बाद भी प्रदूषण वैसा का वैसा ही है

CSE Report on Blue Sky Day: राष्ट्रीय स्वच्छ वायु कार्यक्रम (एनकैप) में शामिल और इससे बाहर रखे शहरों के पीएम 2.5 प्रदूषण स्तर में खास फर्क नहीं है। यह खुलासा ब्लू स्काय डे पर नई रिपोर्ट जारी कर सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) ने किया है। एनकैप के तहत देश में 2017 के मुकाबले साल 2024 तक पीएम 2.5 का स्तर 20 प्रतिशत और पीएम 10 का स्तर 30 प्रतिशत घटाने का लक्ष्य रखा गया है। पीएम 2.5 ऐसे प्रदूषण तत्व हैं, जो आकार में 2.5 माइक्रोमीटर से छोटे होते हैं। वे सांस के साथ हमारे शरीर में दाखिल होकर गंभीर नुकसान पहुंचाते हैं। एनकैप : 132 शहर, फंड भी मिलता है 2020-21 तक पीएम 10 का प्रदूषण 15% से ज्यादा घटाने व 200 दिन स्वच्छ हवा पर सरकार फंड भी देती है। रिपोर्ट के अनुसार, ऐसे 132 में से 63 शहरों में ही निगरानी हो रही है। सिर्फ 14 शहरों में पीएम 2.5 में 10% कमी दिल्ली व गाजियाबाद में प्रदूषण में 5% से कम गिरावट। खन्ना, जयपुर और उदयपुर में तो 20% तक वृद्धि हुई। पंजाब, राजस्थान और महाराष्ट्र में सबसे ज्यादा प्रदूषण वृद्धि वाले शहर। वाराणसी, चेन्नई में सबसे ज्यादा सुधार। गैर-एनकैप : सिर्फ 10% में निगरानी देश में 4,041 शहर हैं। इनमें से 400 में ही राष्ट्रीय वायु गुणवत्ता निगरानी कार्यक्रम व सतत परिवेशी वायु गुणवत्ता निगरानी स्टेशन के तहत पीएम 10 की निगरानी व्यवस्था है। 15 शहरों में पीएम 2.5 का स्तर तेजी से बढ़ा। गुजरात के अंकलेश्वर में सबसे ज्यादा 34% वृद्धि। सतना, बहादुरगढ़, बठिंडा में 20% से ज्यादा वृद्धि। हरियाणा, एमपी और गुजरात के शहरों में प्रदूषण बढ़ा। हरियाणा के पलवल में सबसे ज्यादा 60% सुधार भी आया। यह है एनकैप व गैर-एनकैप 16 एनकैप शहरों और 15 गैर-एनकैप शहरों में पीएम 2.5 की वृद्धि बहुत तेज रही। लॉकडाउन में 2020 में 12% औसत प्रदूषण घटा। लेकिन 2021 में एनकैप शहरों में 8% तो गैर-एनकैप शहरों में 7% प्रदूषण बढ़ गया। एनकैप व गैर-एनकैप दोनों के 39-39 शहरों में प्रदूषण राष्ट्रीय मानकों से अधिक था। इसी तरह दोनों श्रेणियों में सुधार भी क्रमश : 20 और 21 शहरों में हुआ। दिल्ली में 2020 में प्रदूषण 13% घटा था, 2021 में 13% वापस बढ़ गया।

• Urban Lab

Barely any difference in PM 2.5 trends among cities covered in NCAP and those outside it: Report

According to available data, National Capital Region (NCR) cities dominate the list of most improved non-NCAP cities. Most change (positive or negative) is noted among north Indian cities. There is barely any difference in overall PM2.5 trends between cities covered under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and those outside its ambit, according to a new analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The NCAP is a national-level strategy aimed at a 20 percent to 30 percent reduction in PM2.5 and PM10 concentration by 2024, with 2017 as the base year for comparison. PM2.5 are fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller, and are the greatest risk to health. The programme covers 132 cities that do not meet the prescribed national ambient air quality standards. Under NCAP, city-specific action plans have been prepared, including measures for strengthening the air quality monitoring network, reducing vehicular and industrial emissions, increasing public awareness, etc. According to available data, National Capital Region (NCR) cities dominate the list of most improved non-NCAP cities. Most change (positive or negative) is noted among north Indian cities. ”There is barely any difference in overall PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5) trends between cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and those outside its ambit. ”’Both groups of cities reflect similar mixed trends in air quality in different climatic zones, and this means they require a substantial reduction in particulate pollution levels to be able to meet the national ambient air quality standards,” the report read. The CSE carried out the analysis of PM2.5 levels in cities for which data is available to understand the trend in both NCAP and non-NCAP cities. It said only 43 NCAP cities have adequate PM2.5 data for the period 2019-2021 – enough to create a reasonable trend for tracking progress. Due to the lockdown phases, nearly all cities recorded a dip in 2020 followed by a subsequent increase in 2021. A comparison between 2019 and 2021 shows only 14 of the 43 cities have registered a 10 percent or more reduction in their PM2.5 level, the green think-tank said. Seven cities show negligible (less than 5 percent) change. These include Delhi and Ghaziabad. Sixteen cities have registered a significant increase (5 percent or more) in their PM2.5 levels. The 2021 annual value in Khanna, Jaipur, and Udaipur increased by over 20 percent compared to the 2019 annual value. Punjab, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra cities dominate the list of cities that have registered a significant increase in PM2.5 levels between 2019 and 2021. There are 46 cities not covered under the NCAP but have adequate real-time data for both 2019 and 2021. In this group, 15 cities have registered a significant worsening of annual PM2.5 levels between 2019 and 2021, the CSE said. Ankleshwar in Gujarat with a 34 percent increase in annual PM2.5 value is the worst performer in the pool, followed by Satna (Madhya Pradesh), Vatva (Gujarat), Bahadurgarh (Haryana), and Bhatinda (Punjab); all of which have registered an over 20 percent increase. Ten cities registered negligible change (less than 5 percent) in their annual values; 21 recorded significant improvement, with a 5 percent or more decline between 2019 and 2021. Cities in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat dominate the list of non-NCAP cities that have registered a significant increase in air pollution levels between 2019 and 2020. Palwal in southern Haryana with a 60 percent improvement in its annual PM2.5 level is the best performer among non-NCAP cities. Cities within NCR show improvement, while cities outside indicate worsening levels. The CSE said there are 16 NCAP cities and 15 non-NCAP cities that registered a significant increase in their annual PM2.5 levels – with nearly identical numbers. The same goes for cities (20 NCAP and 21 non-NCAP) that registered a significant improvement in their annual PM2.5 levels.

• Urban Lab

Barely any difference in PM 2.5 trends among cities covered in NCAP and those outside it: Report

There is barely any difference in overall PM2.5 trends between cities covered under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and those outside its ambit, according to a new analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The NCAP is a national-level strategy aimed at a 20 per cent to 30 per cent reduction in PM2.5 and PM10 concentration by 2024, with 2017 as the base year for comparison. PM2.5 are fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller, and are the greatest risk to health. The programme covers 132 cities that do not meet the prescribed national ambient air quality standards. Under NCAP, city-specific action plans have been prepared which include measures for strengthening the air quality monitoring network, reducing vehicular and industrial emissions, increasing public awareness, etc. According to available data, National Capital Region (NCR) cities dominate the list of most improved non-NCAP cities. Most change (positive or negative) is noted among north Indian cities. “There is barely any difference in overall PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5) trends between cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and those outside its ambit. “‘Both groups of cities reflect similar mixed trends in air quality in different climatic zones, and this means they require a substantial reduction in particulate pollution levels to be able to meet the national ambient air quality standards,” the report read. The CSE carried out the analysis of PM2.5 levels in cities for which data is available to understand the trend in both NCAP and non-NCAP cities. It said only 43 NCAP cities have adequate PM2.5 data for the period 2019-2021 – enough to create a reasonable trend for tracking progress. Due to the lockdown phases, nearly all cities recorded a dip in 2020 followed by a subsequent increase in 2021. A comparison between 2019 and 2021 shows only 14 of the 43 cities have registered a 10 per cent or more reduction in their PM2.5 level, the green think-tank said. Seven cities show negligible (less than 5 per cent) change. These include Delhi and Ghaziabad. Sixteen cities have registered a significant increase (5 per cent or more) in their PM2.5 levels. The 2021 annual value in Khanna, Jaipur, and Udaipur increased by over 20 per cent compared to the 2019 annual value. Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra cities dominate the list of cities that have registered a significant increase in PM2.5 levels between 2019 and 2021. There are 46 cities not covered under the NCAP but have adequate real-time data for both 2019 and 2021. In this group, 15 cities have registered a significant worsening of annual PM2.5 levels between 2019 and 2021, the CSE said. Ankleshwar in Gujarat with a 34 per cent increase in annual PM2.5 value is the worst performer in the pool, followed by Satna (Madhya Pradesh), Vatva (Gujarat), Bahadurgarh (Haryana), and Bhatinda (Punjab); all of which have registered an over 20 per cent increase. Ten cities registered negligible change (less than 5 per cent) in their annual values; 21 recorded significant improvement, with a 5 per cent or more decline between 2019 and 2021. Cities in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat dominate the list of non-NCAP cities that have registered a significant increase in air pollution levels between 2019 and 2020. Palwal in southern Haryana with a 60 per cent improvement in its annual PM2.5 level is the best performer among non-NCAP cities. Cities within NCR show improvement, while cities outside indicate worsening levels. The CSE said there are 16 NCAP cities and 15 non-NCAP cities that registered a significant increase in their annual PM2.5 levels – with nearly identical numbers. The same goes for cities (20 NCAP and 21 non-NCAP) that registered a significant improvement in their annual PM2.5 levels.

• Urban Lab

Ghaziabad is North India’s most polluted city, Noida, Delhi next on list

A study of pollution levels by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) based on PM2.5 levels in 2021 revealed that Ghaziabad was the most polluted North Indian city. It is followed by Delhi, Noida and Faridabad. Among the 56 cities in North India, Faridabad is the most polluted one, says a study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Delhi, Noida and Faridabad are next on the list, according to the report which was done with data on PM2.5 levels in 2021. Ghaziabad’s annual average PM2.5 level in 2021 was 116 µg/m3 (microgram/cubic metre). Delhi, the second most polluted North Indian city, recorded 109 µg/m3. Pollution levels in Faridabad were 106 µg/m3 in Faridabad and 101 µg/m3 in Noida. Under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), Delhi, Ghaziabad and Noida receive funding to clean up air pollution by 20 to 30 per cent by 2024, stated a report by The New Indian Express. According to Avikal Somvanshi, a senior programme manager at the CSE Urban Lab, “All cities in the NCR that are being monitored, including Gurgaon, Rohtak and Bulandshahr, are not getting funding under NCAP, and these cities have PM2.5 levels that are high and don’t meet the standards.” He further said, “Compared to the rest of the country, NCR cities have shown improvement in the last three years, which is despite most of these cities not getting any funding.” According to the data published in the report, the annual PM2.5 level in Delhi decreased by only one per cent between 2019 and 2021. It dropped to 97 µg/m3 in 2020 because of the Covid-19 mandated lockdown and shot back up to 109 µg/m3 in 2021. “Delhi-NCR also saw a marginal increase in the average peak 24-hour pollution. The peak pollution rose significantly from the baseline among the cities in the south (24 per cent) and central Indian cities (7 per cent), despite the overall fall in the winter average,” said the study.

• Down To Earth

UPSC Preparation: IAS बनना है तो आपके बड़े काम की हैं ये मैगजीन, सिलेबस के बहुत सवालों के जवाब हैं इनमें

UPSC सिविल सेवा परीक्षा की तैयारी करने वालों के लिए स्टडी मेटेरियल इक्ठ्ठा करना भी एक टास्क होता है. इसके लिए कैंडिडेट्स को अलग अलग सोर्स से कंटेंट इकट्ठा करना पड़ता है. आज हम यहां आपको मैगजीन्स के बारे में बता रहे हैं. यूपीएससी कैंडिडेट्स के ऊपर सिलेबस का अच्छा खासा बोझ होता है. उन्हें केवल करेंट अफेयर्स से अपडेट रहने के लिए दैनिक आधार पर न्यूज पेपर पढ़ने की जरूरत है. मैगजीन सभी सूचनाओं को एक ही जगह कवर करने में मदद करती हैं और यहां तक ​​कि रिवीजन की जरूरत होने पर भी उपयोगी होती हैं. आज हम आपको यूपीएससी के लिए जरूरी मैगजीन के बारे में बता रहे हैं. Kurukshetra: ग्रामीण विकास मंत्रालय, भारत सरकार ने कुरुक्षेत्र पत्रिका प्रकाशित की. यह पत्रिका ग्रामीण भारत में नई योजनाओं के बारे में एक विचार देती है. यह ग्रामीण भारत के मुद्दों और सभी कृषि और ग्रामीण समस्याओं से भी संबंधित है. लोक प्रशासन में करियर के लिए यह बहुत उपयोगी है. यह मुख्य परीक्षा के उम्मीदवारों के लिए एक जरूरी पत्रिका है. Economic and Political Weekly: इकोनॉमिक एंड पॉलिटिकल वीकली एक ऐसी पत्रिका है जो कई उम्मीदवारों को मुश्किल लगती है लेकिन यूपीएससी के कुछ सवाल सीधे इस पत्रिका से पूछे जाते हैं, उदाहरण के लिए, 2016 में, यूपीएससी मेन्स में पूछा गया सवाल था कि जल-उपयोग दक्षता क्या है? जल-उपयोग दक्षता बढ़ाने में सूक्ष्म सिंचाई की भूमिका का वर्णन कीजिए. इस सवाल का उत्तर आसानी से दिया जा सकता था यदि कोई उस साल इस पत्रिका में प्रकाशित लेख को पढ़ लेता. Down To Earth: डाउन टू अर्थ एक फोर्थनाइटली मैगजीन है जो पर्यावरण और विकास की राजनीति पर केंद्रित है, जिसे सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट द्वारा प्रकाशित किया जाता है. यूपीएससी के उम्मीदवारों के लिए यह मैगजीन अब एक जरूरत है.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

What are sources contributing to pollution in Delhi? Study set to begin next month to find out

A ‘supersite’ for the study is likely to be ready by September 15. A real-time source apportionment study to determine the sources of pollutants in Delhi is set to begin next month, according to officials in the Environment Department. A ‘supersite’ for the study is likely to be ready by September 15. The supersite, which is being set up at the Government Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya on Rouse Avenue, is where the equipment is being installed to monitor parameters including PM2.5, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, elemental carbon and secondary inorganic and organic aerosols. Equipment has been imported from the USA for the purpose of the study, officials said. The study is estimated to cost around Rs 12 crore. A mobile laboratory is also being readied – a vehicle that can be stationed at different locations to help determine what the sources of pollutants might be at different spots. The project is being implemented jointly by IIT Kanpur, IIT Delhi and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) being the nodal agency. TERI is preparing an emissions inventory for the NCR, which will pinpoint the extent of contribution of major sectors to pollutants, including the contribution from the transport sector, industries, waste burning and construction. Forecasting pollution levels is another component of the study. The emissions inventory is nearly complete, and the inventory will be used for forecasting pollution levels, an official said. Machine learning and artificial intelligence will be used in forecasting, said a source involved with the study, who did not want to be named. “The artificial intelligence method will be trained based on previous data… air quality, emissions, wind direction, mixing height, humidity, rainfall, temperature, and how these variables influence air quality. A forecast for meteorological data will be available. Based on that we will know how the air quality at multiple sites will unfold. This forecasting system will enable hourly AQI forecasts,” the source said. “With the real-time source apportionment study, hourly information on multiple pollutants will be monitored and continuously assessed. This information goes into software that is being developed indigenously, which will assess what are the sources contributing to pollution at the supersite, what are their shares. This will be coupled with the dispersion model to determine where they are physically located. The dispersion model will be used to determine how the pollutants might travel and take different forms,” the source said. The intention is to identify which sources are contributing how much to pollution, and where these sources are. “More advanced technology is now available to do more dynamic assessments of the changing pattern in source contribution. These kinds of technical and scientific applications can help to further refine the policy feedback and help us refine action. If these approaches can be adopted for better decision making, that can be useful to inform action,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment.

• Urban Lab

Barely any difference in PM 2.5 trends among cities covered in NCAP and those outside it: Report

There is barely any difference in overall PM2.5 trends between cities covered under the National Clean Air Programme NCAP and those outside its ambit, according to a new analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment CSE.The NCAP is a national-level strategy aimed at a 20 per cent to 30 per cent reduction in PM2.5 and PM10 concentration by 2024, with 2017 as the base year for comparison. PTI | New Delhi | Updated: 06-09-2022 16:41 IST | Created: 06-09-2022 16:35 IST Barely any difference in PM 2.5 trends among cities covered in NCAP and those outside it: Report Representative Image Image Credit: Flickr Country:India SHARE There is barely any difference in overall PM2.5 trends between cities covered under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and those outside its ambit, according to a new analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The NCAP is a national-level strategy aimed at a 20 percent to 30 percent reduction in PM2.5 and PM10 concentration by 2024, with 2017 as the base year for comparison. PM2.5 are fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller, and are the greatest risk to health. Powered By VDO.AI Video Player is loading. The programme covers 132 cities that do not meet the prescribed national ambient air quality standards. Under NCAP, city-specific action plans have been prepared, including measures for strengthening the air quality monitoring network, reducing vehicular and industrial emissions, increasing public awareness, etc. According to available data, National Capital Region (NCR) cities dominate the list of most improved non-NCAP cities. Most change (positive or negative) is noted among north Indian cities. ''There is barely any difference in overall PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5) trends between cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and those outside its ambit. '''Both groups of cities reflect similar mixed trends in air quality in different climatic zones, and this means they require a substantial reduction in particulate pollution levels to be able to meet the national ambient air quality standards,'' the report read. The CSE carried out the analysis of PM2.5 levels in cities for which data is available to understand the trend in both NCAP and non-NCAP cities. It said only 43 NCAP cities have adequate PM2.5 data for the period 2019-2021 – enough to create a reasonable trend for tracking progress. Due to the lockdown phases, nearly all cities recorded a dip in 2020 followed by a subsequent increase in 2021. A comparison between 2019 and 2021 shows only 14 of the 43 cities have registered a 10 percent or more reduction in their PM2.5 level, the green think-tank said. Seven cities show negligible (less than 5 percent) change. These include Delhi and Ghaziabad. Sixteen cities have registered a significant increase (5 percent or more) in their PM2.5 levels. The 2021 annual value in Khanna, Jaipur, and Udaipur increased by over 20 percent compared to the 2019 annual value. Punjab, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra cities dominate the list of cities that have registered a significant increase in PM2.5 levels between 2019 and 2021. There are 46 cities not covered under the NCAP but have adequate real-time data for both 2019 and 2021. In this group, 15 cities have registered a significant worsening of annual PM2.5 levels between 2019 and 2021, the CSE said. Ankleshwar in Gujarat with a 34 percent increase in annual PM2.5 value is the worst performer in the pool, followed by Satna (Madhya Pradesh), Vatva (Gujarat), Bahadurgarh (Haryana), and Bhatinda (Punjab); all of which have registered an over 20 percent increase. Ten cities registered negligible change (less than 5 percent) in their annual values; 21 recorded significant improvement, with a 5 percent or more decline between 2019 and 2021. Cities in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat dominate the list of non-NCAP cities that have registered a significant increase in air pollution levels between 2019 and 2020. Palwal in southern Haryana with a 60 percent improvement in its annual PM2.5 level is the best performer among non-NCAP cities. Cities within NCR show improvement, while cities outside indicate worsening levels. The CSE said there are 16 NCAP cities and 15 non-NCAP cities that registered a significant increase in their annual PM2.5 levels – with nearly identical numbers. The same goes for cities (20 NCAP and 21 non-NCAP) that registered a significant improvement in their annual PM2.5 levels.

• Urban Lab

Barely any difference in PM 2.5 trends among cities covered in NCAP and those outside it: Report

There is barely any difference in overall PM2.5 trends between cities covered under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and those outside its ambit, according to a new analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The NCAP is a national-level strategy aimed at a 20 per cent to 30 per cent reduction in PM2.5 and PM10 concentration by 2024, with 2017 as the base year for comparison. PM2.5 are fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller, and are the greatest risk to health. The programme covers 132 cities that do not meet the prescribed national ambient air quality standards. Under NCAP, city-specific action plans have been prepared which include measures for strengthening the air quality monitoring network, reducing vehicular and industrial emissions, increasing public awareness, etc. According to available data, National Capital Region (NCR) cities dominate the list of most improved non-NCAP cities. Most change (positive or negative) is noted among north Indian cities. “There is barely any difference in overall PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5) trends between cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and those outside its ambit. “‘Both groups of cities reflect similar mixed trends in air quality in different climatic zones, and this means they require a substantial reduction in particulate pollution levels to be able to meet the national ambient air quality standards,” the report read. The CSE carried out the analysis of PM2.5 levels in cities for which data is available to understand the trend in both NCAP and non-NCAP cities. It said only 43 NCAP cities have adequate PM2.5 data for the period 2019-2021 – enough to create a reasonable trend for tracking progress. Due to the lockdown phases, nearly all cities recorded a dip in 2020 followed by a subsequent increase in 2021. A comparison between 2019 and 2021 shows only 14 of the 43 cities have registered a 10 per cent or more reduction in their PM2.5 level, the green think-tank said. Seven cities show negligible (less than 5 per cent) change. These include Delhi and Ghaziabad. Sixteen cities have registered a significant increase (5 per cent or more) in their PM2.5 levels. The 2021 annual value in Khanna, Jaipur, and Udaipur increased by over 20 per cent compared to the 2019 annual value. Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra cities dominate the list of cities that have registered a significant increase in PM2.5 levels between 2019 and 2021. There are 46 cities not covered under the NCAP but have adequate real-time data for both 2019 and 2021. In this group, 15 cities have registered a significant worsening of annual PM2.5 levels between 2019 and 2021, the CSE said. Ankleshwar in Gujarat with a 34 per cent increase in annual PM2.5 value is the worst performer in the pool, followed by Satna (Madhya Pradesh), Vatva (Gujarat), Bahadurgarh (Haryana), and Bhatinda (Punjab); all of which have registered an over 20 per cent increase. Ten cities registered negligible change (less than 5 per cent) in their annual values; 21 recorded significant improvement, with a 5 per cent or more decline between 2019 and 2021. Cities in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat dominate the list of non-NCAP cities that have registered a significant increase in air pollution levels between 2019 and 2020. Palwal in southern Haryana with a 60 per cent improvement in its annual PM2.5 level is the best performer among non-NCAP cities. Cities within NCR show improvement, while cities outside indicate worsening levels. The CSE said there are 16 NCAP cities and 15 non-NCAP cities that registered a significant increase in their annual PM2.5 levels – with nearly identical numbers. The same goes for cities (20 NCAP and 21 non-NCAP) that registered a significant improvement in their annual PM2.5 levels.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Delhi govt's fight against pollution is a result of strong political will and action-oriented policies: DDC Vice Chairperson Jasmine Shah

Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) Vice Chairperson Jasmine Shah firmly believes that in order to tackle pollution, a regional specific approach with strong political will and action-oriented policies should be adopted. One of the active spokespersons of the policies of Delhi government, he wants PM Narendra Modi to chair the Air Quality Monitoring Commission along with the CMs of other Indian States. In a detailed conversation with Millennium Post, he talks about the policies and efforts of Delhi government that have helped in reducing pollution in the Capital and describes various measures that can be adopted by other states and cities in order to prevent the environment from further degradation. Excerpts: Q: Reducing pollution was among CM Arvind Kejriwal's 10 guarantees during the 2020 assembly elections. How far have we come? A: Over the last seven years of the AAP government in Delhi, education, healthcare and bijli-paani are often spoken about. I would say that one of the signature achievements of this government has been how aggressively it has has taken initiatives even in the sphere of environment.There is data to show it. But the starting point to acknowledge that there is some substantial progress that Delhi is making towards environmental goals was a study by the Centre of Science and Environment(CSE) in 2019. It showed that over a span of five years, Delhi's average PM2.5 pollution level has decreased by 25%. Generally, there is this perception that Delhi is highly polluted. But if we look at the overall trend, and consider the last five years, it is negative. I am talking about pre-Covid period. So between 2015 and 2020, the average pollution level has come down by 25%. But we need to do a lot more. Q: What have been some of the major steps taken by the Delhi govt to address pollution so far? A: Delhi is the only state that has shut down all its thermal power plants. We do know that coal emissions do create problems. We today have 24x7 electricity. Even if you go to the residential societies in Gurugram and Noida, many of them are run by diesel generators. Reliable electricity is still not available in major parts of North India. In Delhi, in 2015 during summers, there were huge power cuts and you would see a lot of these diesel generators, even the small ones, in all shops. But today if you ask, very few people keep a backup power supply because Delhi has the most reliable power supply in the country and I think that has been a major progress. Coming to industrial pollution, Delhi has the most stringent list of fuels that are allowed. We are today the only state where the entire industry has moved from coal to PNG. Delhi has around 1,600 industrial units that need direct energy consumption and they have moved to pipe natural gas. The government has actively facilitated incentives for transition, and there have been some subsidy schemes that we have also launched. Q: How is the Delhi govt improving public transport? A: If you look at the contribution of transport, 35-40 per cent of the pollution comes from it. That is where Delhi is taking very aggressive and ambitious steps on two folds — one is to usher electric mobility, the electric vehicles, and the second is to increase the capacity and quality of public transport. Delhi Metro is one of the best Metro networks in the world today. But the expansion and the progress in public buses is also unprecedented. Today, Delhi has more buses than it had at any point of time. We are at around 7,400 buses and more are in the pipeline and we will reach around 10,000 buses by 2025. Out of this, 80 per cent, that is around 8,000, are going to be electric. Today we have around 300 electric buses but in the next two years the aging fleet of DTC and cluster buses will be replaced. Q: Delhi always features in the list of most polluted cities in the world. What is holding us from taking more ambitious action? A: The first thing that we need to understand and realise is that pollution is not a Delhi specific problem, it is a pan India problem, and specifically pan North India problem because of both geographical factors and also the issue of 'paralli'. Pollution does know any borders. Many of these things that I have mentioned are happening only in Delhi. We have transitioned our entire industry to clean fuel. There seems to be very little understanding that this is a regional air shared problem and finally the question of 'paralli', the crop stubble burning where we know that those two months, it is the single most contributing factor. There are many conversations that have happened at the government of India level but very little traction. The progress has been very marginal. Somewhere we see a huge lack of political will to treat this as a regional issue. So what is holding us back is a lack of scientific, regional approach. If you want a drastic change make a binding action plan that is mandatory for everyone. Q : What are the lessons other cities and states in India can learn from Delhi's journey? A: Delhi's journey has a lot that can be shared with other cities and states for them to learn. But it has to start from political will. What Delhi has done is not rocket science, there is a strong political will here. Before every winter and now even summers we come up with an action plan. Our environment minister is constantly addressing the people of Delhi, the CM of Delhi always talks about pollution in his press conferences. How many press conferences the UP CM or the Haryana CM have done on Environment and pollution. The political will is very much reflected here. This kind of problem has to be taken up at the CM's level. Once that has happened then we know that solutions exist. Delhi has shown that in a span of 2 years, with political commitment as well as a consulted policy action, you can increase your share of EVs from 1 to 12 per cent. More than anything, for me, EVs have been a very satisfying story so far, because when we come up with a policy, it is sometimes met with skepticism. As a government, as long as you are willing to make this a shared mission, results will be positive. Let's understand people and business constraints and find solutions that can work for everyone. It's been absolutely fantastic to see that the people of Delhi have responded, businesses, large organizations have responded and within 2 years our share of EV is at 12%. Q: One idea or a leap of faith approach that you think can impact the fight against pollution in Delhi NCR? A: We do have a commission in the name of the Central Air Quality commission. The failure of this commission is that it has become a bureaucratic body. The challenge has never been bureaucratic. The challenge has been aligning the political commitment and leadership of this country. I would want CAQM to be headed by the Prime Minister and have CMs of Punjab, UP and Haryana in it.

• DTE - Web

Drought impacts agricultural output in the US; signs of food shortage in Europe too !

New Delhi – According to a report released by Akshit Sangomala, a researcher at the Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi, the drought conditions are severe in the states of California, Texas, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the drought will have an adverse effect on US agriculture and livestock. Loss of grass pastures due to droughts and heat waves can reduce livestock production. The food processing and agricultural services sectors may be adversely affected leading to a rise in the regional and national food prices. Lake Mead, the reservoir that supplies water to 25 million people here, has reached its bottom. The World Economic Forum and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have given this information. Extreme cold and extreme heat in Europe are causing local as well as global climate change. Many rivers, including major rivers in Europe, have dried up. This has had a major impact on drinking and agricultural water, as well as on the hydropower sector. The emergence of food shortages across Europe in the coming years will have a major impact on other products as well. The European Commission has published a report in this regard. Rising global food prices are likely to lead to food shortages in 2022-23, with 22 million people on the African continent fearing to face starvation. In China, the rice and maize crops on the banks of the river have come into trouble. Hydropower plants on the river have been closed. Many provinces are facing drought. Lights in major cities, including Shanghai, are turned off at night. Multinational companies have shut down projects due to a lack of electricity.

• Director General Office

New energy conundrum

It is not just a moral imperative, but a pre-requisite for a world that has a chance to keep the spiralling temperatures within check Our energy-guzzling world is on the cusp. It could find a way to leverage the current crisis of energy scarcity and rising prices to reinvent the fossil fuel-based system. Or, it could reinvest in the same carbon-intensive energy system as people in the already rich countries get increasingly desperate for reliable and affordable power to light and heat their homes this coming winter season. It is an important moment in time — one which makes the actions to combat climate change even more contested and urgent. Let’s be clear that at this moment, the developed countries — I point to them because these countries have already burnt massive amounts of carbon dioxide for energy to build their economies — are faced with a real energy conundrum. They have already used up their share of carbon space; emissions from the burning of fossil fuels by these countries, first coal and then natural gas and oil, have brought the world to the edge of the precipice. They have said in their many pronouncements they would move away from fossil fuels to cleaner, renewable energy systems, that they would reinvent their energy systems. But the question is: Will they today, when the rubber has hit the road? It is a double-punch moment as well. On the one hand, these countries — from Europe to the US — are battered because of a fast-heating planet; temperatures have gone through the roof; droughts and extreme weather events are hitting them as well. They know that climate change is a great equaliser and that as emissions stock up in the atmosphere, temperatures will increase and make for an untenable future. On the other hand, ordinary people across Europe are worried, not just because of climate change but because of the lack of energy to heat their homes this coming winter. In the UK, energy prices have spiralled — some say also because of the lack of regulatory control of domestic gas production — and it is making for a tense polity. In the US, gas prices went up in summer, so much so that people travelled less and the consumption of fuel dropped for one climate-friendly moment. But now that prices are down and it is business as usual, the question is if the Joe Biden administration will be able to meet its ambitious climate change goals for 2030. The fact is that this energy disruption has provided the much-needed vault to the beleaguered fossil-fuel industry and has given it a new lease of life. Today, governments have changed their tune; they are asking this industry to dig more, to drill more, and to supply more. Europe has baptised natural gas, a fossil fuel less polluting than coal but still a major emitter of carbon dioxide, as “clean”. Norway and the UK have rebooted their oil and gas drilling; Germany and others in Europe are looking for new suppliers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from every distant shore and are building infrastructure to pipe and pump it. The US has passed a climate Bill (the Inflation Reduction Act), which will invest in renewable energy but conditional on expenditure on oil and gas in Alaska, Gulf of Mexico, and the opening up of millions of hectares of federal land for drilling. There is no doubt that the US legislation is a momentous development — one that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago. The US will, through this, do more than ever before to build a manufacturing base for renewable energy, particularly solar, and will incentivise its use and generously pay households to switch to electric vehicles or cleaner and more insulated houses to cut energy bills. Europe, even in this desperate scramble for gas, is working to ramp up its investment in renewable power. This spend on everything from nuclear to solar, wind and biomass power is also about its energy independence, as it cuts the umbilical cord with foreign energy suppliers. So, it is the worst of times. It could be the best of times, but there are some caveats. One, this renewed interest in fossil fuels must remain temporary and transient. Given the nature of economies, once the investment has been made in this new infrastructure for LNG terminals or the supply of fossil fuel has increased from new oil and gas discoveries, it will be difficult to wean off. Two, and this is linked to my first caveat, these countries should not be entitled to more use of fossil fuels in our world of shrunk carbon budgets. They need to reduce emissions drastically and leave whatever little carbon budget space that is remaining to poorer countries to use — this, in real terms, means not using fossil fuels but letting the continent of Africa or countries like India use the available cleaner fossil fuels to drive economies and reduce local air pollution. It is not just a moral imperative, but a pre-requisite for a world that has a chance to keep the spiralling temperatures within check. This is what we need to keep in mind as countries reconcile their energy supply options with climate change.

• Sustainable Habitat

गर्मी में ठंडा और सर्दी में गर्म रहने वाले घर बनाने हों तो इन बातों का रखें ध्यान

जलवायु परिवर्तन, शहरी क्षेत्रों में बसने का बढ़ता रुझान, अर्बन हीट आइलैंड इफेक्ट और एयर कंडीशन (एसी) के बढ़ते उपयोग के चलते आने वाले दशकों में शहर व घर और ज्यादा गर्म होंगे। आवासीय भवन डिजाइन में शामिल नई तकनीक घरों के अंदर वाले हिस्से को ठंडा रखने में मदद कर सकती हैं, जिससे एसी से घर को ठंडा रखने की जरूरत कम की जा सकती है। इमारतों में कूलिंग डिजाइन भी हानिकारक गैसों के उत्सर्जन को कम करने में मदद करते हैं क्योंकि एसी को लगातार चलाने की आवश्यकता नहीं होती है। आप साल 2030 में इंदौर या सूरत जैसे शहरों में किसी आवासीय परिसर (रेसिडेंशियल कॉम्पलेक्स) की कल्पना करें। अगर ये इमारतें मौजूदा दौर की गगनचुंबी इमारतों की तरह ही हुईं, तो आपके कल्पना का वह परिसर शहर के भीतर खड़ा एक बहुमंजिला ढांचा होगा। कंक्रीट की पतली दीवारों के बीच बने ये घर मॉड्यूलर होंगे। ऊपर की मंजिलों में रहने वाले परिवार गर्मी के बावजूद खिड़कियां बंद रखना पसंद करेंगे। ऐसा इसलिए क्योंकि हवा इतनी तेज होगी कि दरवाजे आपस में टकराएंगे। सबसे ऊपरी मंजिल पर रहने वालों को असुविधा होगी क्योंकि उन्हें चारों ओर यहां तक कि ऊपर से भी गर्मी लगेगी। हालांकि, ऊपर से नजारे शानदार दिखेंगे। बड़ी खिड़कियों से नीचे शहर का फैलाव तो दिखेगा पर आस-पास बनी गगनचुंबी इमारतें इस नज़ारे में खलल भी पैदा करेंगी। इन तमाम मॉडर्न सुविधाओं के बाद भी 2030 तक घर और गर्म हो जाएंगे। पतली कंक्रीट की दीवार और शीशा, झुलसाने वाली गर्मी से नहीं बचा पाएंगे। ऐसे में हर घर को रहने लायक बनाने के लिए एयर कंडीशन (एसी) की ज़रूरत होगी। ये एसी शहर को और ज्यादा गर्म करेंगे। मैकिन्से का अनुमान है कि साल 2025 और 2035 के बीच इन शहरी क्षेत्रों में कम से कम एक हीटवेव आने की 40% संभावना है। इंदौर में गर्मियों में पारा पहले ही 44 डिग्री सेल्सियस तक पहुंच चुका है। दूसरी तरफ, तटीय शहर होने के बावजूद सूरत में इस साल तापमान सामान्य से छह डिग्री अधिक रहा है। स्मार्ट सिटी में शामिल इंदौर और सूरत जैसे शहर 2030 तक शायद टियर 1 में शामिल हो जाएं और फिर महानगर बन जाएं। बेंगलुरु स्थित इंडियन इंस्टीट्यूट फॉर ह्यूमन सेटलमेंट्स में जलवायु परिवर्तन पर शोध करने वाली चांदनी सिंह ने न्यूयॉर्क टाइम्स में लिखा, “भारत के लिए गर्मी कोई अजूबा नहीं है। इसका एक लंबा इतिहास है। यह लोगों के यादों का हिस्सा है और लोग इससे निपटने का तरीका भी जानते हैं।” ऐसे में अगर हम इन पारंपरिक तरीकों में कुछ का इस्तेमाल गर्मी से बचने के लिए बनाए गए घरों में करें तो क्या होगा? यह उन लोगों के लिए है जो बेहतर जीवन की उम्मीद लेकर इन शहरों में बस रहे हैं। तो आइए जानते हैं वे घर कैसे होंगे? मोंगाबे-इंडिया ने इमारतों को ठंडा रखने के लिए कई आर्किटेक्ट और अर्बन डिजाइन विशेषज्ञों से बात की है। इनमें ‘निष्क्रिय डिजाइन (पेसिव डिजाइन)’ नाम की तकनीकों का एक सेट है क्योंकि उन्हें ठंडा करने के लिए ऊर्जा खर्च करने की जरूरत नहीं होती है। ऐसे आवासीय भवनों के लिए संभावित डिजाइन का इलस्ट्रेशन मौजूदा शोध और विशेषज्ञों के इनपुट पर आधारित है। शेड, वेंटिलेट, इन्सुलेट इन इमारतों को खास तौर पर ठंडा रखने के लिए डिजाइन किया जाएगा। निजी अपार्टमेंट में थर्मल कंफर्ट का ध्यान रखा जाएगा। हालांकि कम्फर्ट या आराम की सबकी अपनी परिभाषा होती है। लोग इसे अपने हिसाब, प्राथमिकताओं और जीवन के अनुभवों से तय करते हैं। नई दिल्ली स्थित सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट में सस्टेनेबल बिल्डिंग्स एंड हैबिटेट प्रोग्राम के कार्यक्रम निदेशक रजनीश सरीन कहते हैं, “थर्मल कंफर्ट आराम के वो घंटे हैं जो आपको अपने घर के अंदर मिलते हैं। यह बिना एयर कंडीशनिंग या किसी मशीनी कूलिंग सिस्टम के।” सरीन कहते हैं कि इंसान की आराम के बारे में जो सोच है उसमें काफी हद तक कोई बदलाव नहीं आया है। कहते हैं, “सामग्री (घर बनाने से जुड़ी चीजें) और अन्य विज्ञान भले बदल गए हैं, लेकिन हवा और बहुत तेज हवा के बारे में आपकी समझ वही है। आपका शरीर उन्हें इसी तरह से समझता है।” थर्मल कंफर्ट के लिए तीन मुख्य डिजाइन तत्व- छांव की व्यवस्था (शेडिंग), वेंटिलेशन (रोशनदान) और इन्सुलेशन हैं। शेडिंग घर में रोशनी की व्यवस्था करते हुए सीधे गर्मी को आने से रोकता है। वेंटिलेशन घर में हवा की आवाजाही पक्का करता है। यह आदर्श रूप से एक घंटे में सामान्यतः 10 बार (ठंडी) बाहर की हवा से, अंदर की हवा को बदलता है। इन्सुलेशन घर को बहुत अधिक गर्मी सोखने से रोकता है और बाहर ठंड होने पर भी घर को गर्म रखता है। भारतीय उपमहाद्वीप उत्तरी गोलार्ध में पड़ता है। यहां गर्मियों में सूरज सीधे ऊपर रहते हुए आगे बढ़ता है। वहीं सर्दियों में दक्षिण की तरफ से एक कोण पर गिरता है। कम ऊर्जा की खपत वाली इमारतों के डिजाइन में माहिर ग्रीनटेक नॉलेज सॉल्यूशंस की आर्किटेक्ट और सहयोगी निदेशक सास्वती चेतिया कहती हैं, “गर्मियों में दक्षिण की तरफ सूरज बहुत ऊपर होता है। अगर आपके पास एक साधारण छज्जा (छाया के लिए ओवरहैंग) हो, तो यह सूरज की किरणों को खिड़की के शीशे से टकराने से रोकता है। यही काफी है। और जाड़ों में दक्षिण की ओर सूर्य का कोण कम होता है। सर्दियों में आपको सूरज की जरूरत होती है, ताकि वही छज्जा सूरज को बाधित न करे। यह व्यवस्था उत्तर भारतीय जगहों पर बहुत अच्छी तरह से काम करती है।” पूरब में उगने वाले सूरज की तपिश वहां हल्की होती है। वह पर्याप्त रोशनी भी देता है। इसलिए सरीन उस तरफ रहने और काम करने की जगहें रखने का सुझाव देती हैं। साथ ही जितना संभव हो सके सूरज की किरणों को पश्चिम की तरफ शेडिंग और इन्सुलेटेड दीवारों के साथ रोकने की जरूरत है। वहीं वेंटिलेशन पेचीदा काम है। इसमें घर के भीतर हवा की आवाजाही की ज़रूरत पड़ती है, लेकिन तब जब यह ठंडा हो। आप बहुत तेज हवा भी नहीं चाहेंगे। ऐसे में हवा के उचित प्रवाह के लिए खिड़की का डिजाइन अहम हो जाता है। बड़ी खिड़कियों से भरपूर रोशनी मिलती है, लेकिन वे वेंटिलेशन में मददगार नहीं हैं। ऐसा इसलिए कि किसी भी समय, पूरी खिड़की का सिर्फ आधा हिस्सा ही खोला जा सकता है। इसके उलट, अंदर या बाहर खुलने वाली खिड़कियां 90% से अधिक खोली जा सकती हैं। चेतिया बड़ी खिड़की के साथ एक और खामी भी बताती हैं: उनमें बहुत अधिक शीशा होता है, जो गर्मी का खराब परावर्तक (रिफ्लेक्टर) है। बड़ी खिड़कियां घरों को ग्रीनहाउस बना देती हैं। मतलब इन खिड़कियों से घरों में अधिक गर्मी आती है और घर में ठहर जाती है, जिसे ठंडा करने के लिए आपको एयर कंडीशन की जरूरत होती है। वह पुराने जमाने की खिड़कियों की तरफ लौटने का सुझाव देती हैं। इनमें रोशनी के लिए आधा हिस्सा शीशा का होता था। वहीं लकड़ी से बना आधा हिस्सा गर्मी और रोशनी दोनों को रोकता था। फिर भी बाहर के नजारों के लिए बड़ी खिड़की लगाना जरूरी ही है, तो शीशे पर गर्मी रोकने वाली कोटिंग या खिड़की पर एक शेड जरूरी है। इमारत की ऊंचाई चार मंजिल से अधिक न रखने की एक खास वजह वेंटिलेशन भी है। शहरों में हवा के प्रवाह के अध्ययन से पता चलता है कि ऊंची मंजिलें हवा की तेज गति का अनुभव करती हैं। पंक्तियों में बनाई गईं ऊंची इमारतें शहर के भीतर हवा की सुरंगें भी बनाती हैं, जिससे शहर में हवा के प्रवाह का पैटर्न बदलता है। इससे जीवन पर असर पड़ता है। बड़े शहरों में वेंटिलेशन के लिए बाहरी हवा का इस्तेमाल करने में एक समस्या वायु प्रदूषण है। जैसा कि चेतिया बताती हैं, “दिल्ली जैसी जगहों पर हमें बाहरी हवा का इस्तेमाल करने के लिए उसे साफ रखना होगा। यह प्राकृतिक संसाधन हमें उपलब्ध है। आप उस संसाधन को प्रदूषित कर रहे हैं और इस कारण आप इसका इस्तेमाल नहीं कर पाएंगे। दूसरे शहरों के लिए, आप हवा को उस हद तक प्रदूषित नहीं करें। अगर आप इस हवा का उपयोग करने में सक्षम नहीं हैं, तो यह सबके लिए विनाशकारी साबित होगा।” थर्मल कंफर्ट के लिए डिजाइनिंग का तीसरा हिस्सा इन्सुलेशन है। यह उन सामग्रियों से तय किया जाता है जिनका इस्तेमाल घर बनाने में होता है। आधुनिक आवासीय परिसरों को रीइनफोर्स्ड सीमेंट कंक्रीट (RCC) से बनाया जाता है। इसे मजबूत बनाने के लिए स्टील फ्रेम के चारों ओर कंक्रीट से ढाला जाता है। RCC की दीवारें बहुमंजिला घरों के लिए बहुत अच्छी हैं क्योंकि हर दीवार भार उठाने के लिए पूरी तरह मजबूत है। इसका मतलब है कि अलग से बीम या फ्रेम की जरूरत नहीं है। इससे बनी दीवारें बहुत पतली भी हो सकती हैं। यह गगनचुंबी इमारतों के लिए वरदान है, क्योंकि दीवारें हल्की होती हैं। आरसीसी की दीवारों के लिए मोल्ड बनाना महंगा है। इसलिए लागत को तभी सही ठहराया जा सकता है, जब बहुमंजिला आवासीय परिसरों में मॉड्यूलर निर्माण में मोल्ड का बार-बार इस्तेमाल किया जाए। इस तरह की मॉड्यूलर दीवारों का उपयोग करने से श्रम की बचत होती है। साथ ही निर्माण की गति बढ़ जाती है। यही वजह है कि आरसीसी से शहर में होने वाले निर्माण में ज्यादा फायदा है। दूसरी तरह से देखें तो फ्लोर एरिया अधिक मिलता है क्योंकि दीवारें 15 सेमी जितनी पतली होती हैं। शहरों में फ्लोर एरिया के आधार पर ही फ्लैट बेचे जाते हैं। लेकिन पतली दीवारों का मतलब बाहर से अंदर की ओर तेजी से गर्म होना भी है। कंक्रीट एक खराब इंसुलेटर है, जिसमें मिट्टी की ईंटों की तुलना में तापीय चालकता (थर्मल कंडक्टिविटी) दोगुनी होती है। भविष्य के बनने वाले घरों में मोटी या बेहतर इन्सुलेटेड दीवारें बनाई जा सकती हैं। उदाहरण के लिए बनारस हिंदू विश्वविद्यालय जैसी पुरानी इमारत को लिया जा सकता है। यहां दीवारें 24 इंच तक मोटी हैं। जिसके चलते दिन में और भी कम गर्मी अंदर आती है। दूसरी तरफ, इनमें जमा गर्मी ठंडी रातों के दौरान रिलीज होती हैं। लेकिन इसका मतलब यह नहीं है कि आधुनिक घरों को ऐसी मोटी दीवारों की जरूरत है। पारिस्थितिकी पर ध्यान देने वाली डिजाइन फर्म बायोम एनवायरनमेंटल सॉल्यूशंस के सीनियर आर्किटेक्ट अनुराग तम्हंकर का सुझाव है, “एक बहुत मोटी दीवार बनाने की कोशिश करने के बजाय, हम खोखले ब्लॉक या या दोहरी दीवारों का उपयोग करने की कोशिश करते हैं। इनमें हवा के लिए खाली जगह के साथ पतली दीवारों की दो परतें होती हैं। यह गर्मी का असर कम करने में मदद करती हैं। इसलिए 18 इंच या 24 इंच की दीवार बनाने के बजाय आप 12 इंच में ही इस तरह का आराम पा सकते हैं।” हालांकि अभी और समझौता करने की गुंजाइश है: यदि दीवारें मोटी होंगी, तो फ्लोर एरिया कम होगा। इसका मतलब है कि घर का कार्पेट एरिया कम हो जाएगा। कार्पेट एरिया के हिसाब से ही घऱ या फ्लैट बेचे जाते हैं। सरीन कहती हैं, “लोगों की सोच है कि ऐसी डिजाइन पर काम करना बहुत महंगा है।” “लेकिन ऐसा नहीं है। डिजाइन से कई तरह के फायदे हो सकते हैं, जो परियोजना की कुल लागत का महज 2% होता है।” कई समाधान, जैसे बिल्डिंग ऑरिएंटेशन यानी इमारत किस दिशा में है या सूझ-बूझ से बनाई गई खिड़की का डिजाइन निर्माण लागत बढ़ाते नहीं हैं, बल्कि थर्मल कंफर्ट देते हैं। ये डिज़ाइन स्केलेबल हैं कि नहीं, अभी तक स्थापित नहीं हो पाया है। विशेषज्ञों का अनुमान है कि चूंकि शहरी क्षेत्रों में रियल इस्टेट की लागत अधिक होती है, इसलिए बिल्डर भूमि का अधिक से अधिक उपयोग करने के लिए ऊंची इमारतें बनाने की कोशिश करते हैं। लेकिन ऐसे डिजाइन को अन्य छोटे शहरों में इस्तेमाल किया जा सकता है। इन शहरों में नए परिवार बस रहे हैं और जमीन की कीमत लोगों की पहुंच में है। शायद अभी भी यह सोचने का समय है कि लोग कैसे रहें। उपमहाद्वीप में नया डिजाइन अशोका विश्वविद्यालय में समाजशास्त्री व पर्यावरण अध्ययन की प्रोफेसर अमिता बाविस्कर कहती हैं, “ऐसी कई डिजाइन हैं जो भारतीय उपमहाद्वीप में विकसित हुई हैं और भविष्य के लिए घर बनाते समय इन पर विचार किया जा सकता है। इस तरह के विचारों को वर्ग और कालक्रम में बांटा जा सकता है। वह बताती हैं कि दिल्ली के घने इलाकों जैसे शाहजहानाबाद की चहारदीवारी में वेंटिलेशन के साथ सूरज की सीधी किरणों को विक्षेपित करने की कोशिश का एक संयोजन था। इनमें दरवाजे के ऊपर मोटी दीवारें, पोर्च, बरामदे, छज्जे, रोशनदान (ऊंची जगह पर वेंटिलेटर) और आंगन जैसी चीजें थी। “ज्यादातर घर एक-दो मंजिल के होते थे, जिसके ऊपर एक खुली छत थी। छत हवाओं को बांधे रखने, गर्मियों में सोने, सर्दियों में धूप सेंकने वगैरह की जगह बन गई।” अंग्रेजों की शैली को वह व्यापक रूप से उष्णकटिबंधीय वास्तुकला के रूप में वर्गीकृत करती हैं: “यह स्थानीय जलवायु से मिलता था, जो विशेषाधिकार के आधार पर बहुत सारी जगह तक पहुंच पर आधारित था।” ऐसे घरों में बड़े-बड़े बगीचे, बरामदे और बहुत ऊंची छतें होती थीं। बाविस्कर ध्यान दिलाती हैं कि मुंबई में मजदूरों की चॉल और शाहजहानाबाद में साझा बालकनी, गलियारों और साझा आंगन की वास्तुकला के बीच समानताएं हैं। मुगल वास्तुकला में अंदर की जगहों में नहरें और फव्वारे भी थे। इनसे वाष्पीकरण में मदद मिलती थी और जो ठंडक को बढ़ाती है। तमिल और केरल के घरों में अक्सर घर के सामने लोहे के दरवाजे और बरामदे होते हैं। इसके चलते बाहर और अंदर के बीच एक दूरी (अहाता) होती है जो गर्मी को रोकती है। राजस्थान में मिट्टी के पलस्तर और फूस की छतों जैसी स्थानीय निर्माण तकनीकों से भी सूरज की तपिश से राहत मिलती है। प्रेरणा पाने के लिए स्थानीय तकनीकों को देखना उपयोगी है। तम्हंकर बताते हैं कि ऐसे सभी आइडिया अब व्यावहारिक नहीं हैं। वह कहते हैं, “उस समय की कई तकनीकें हमारी मौजूदा जीवनशैली के लिए शायद उपयुक्त नहीं हैं। मिट्टी की दीवारों को हर साल फिर से पलस्तर करने की आवश्यकता होती है।” सरीन कहते हैं, अन्य व्यावहारिक मुद्दे भी हैं। इस तरह की स्थानीय डिजाइन तकनीकों के लिए कुशल श्रम और कच्चे माल की कमी। चेतिया यह भी बताती हैं कि उदाहरण की खातिर ईंट बिछाने के लिए एक राजमिस्त्री की आवश्यकता होती है। फिर किसी को राजमिस्त्री की देखरेख करनी पड़ती है, जिससे लागत बढ़ जाती है। प्रीफैब्रिकेटेड कंक्रीट इस लागत को कम करता है। फिर भी डिजाइन लागत, परियोजना पर आने वाले खर्च का एक छोटा हिस्सा है। स्मार्ट डिजाइन विकल्पों के चलते लंबे वक्त में घर को ठंडा रखने पर आने वाले खर्च में काफी बचत हो सकती है। रूफ गार्डन और छत पर सोलर पैनल जैसे नए लेकिन स्थापित विचार भी महत्वपूर्ण हैं। सौर पैनल छत पर सूर्य की सीधी किरणों से पौधों को बचाते हैं। इनसे अपार्टमेंट परिसर के आम हिस्सों में बिजली दी जा सकती है। इससे ऊर्जा की बचत होती है। तेजी से बढ़ रहा एयर कंडीशनर का इस्तेमाल इंडिया कूलिंग एक्शन प्लान के अनुसार 2017 में भारत में महज आठ प्रतिशत घरों में एयर कंडीशनर थे। लेकिन यह संख्या तेजी से बढ़ रही है। अंतर्राष्ट्रीय ऊर्जा एजेंसी का अनुमान है कि 2022 में भारतीयों के पास 6.7 करोड़ एसी यूनिट हैं। अनुमान है कि 2032 तक यह आंकड़ा 31.8 करोड़ यूनिट तक पहुंच जाएगा। इस एयर कंडीशनिंग का अधिकांश हिस्सा शहरी क्षेत्रों में घरों को ठंडा करने के लिए इस्तेमाल होगा, जो ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों की तुलना में तेजी से गर्म हो रहे हैं। घर को ठंडा रखने के लिए एयर कंडीशन की इतनी मांग बिजली की खपत बढ़ाएगी, जिसे ‘कोल्ड क्रंच’ कहा जाता है। निश्चित तौर पर इसका हल निकालना होगा। एयर कंडीशनर को अधिक ऊर्जा कुशल बनाना होगा। अर्बन हीट आइलैंड इफेक्ट से बचने के लिए अर्बन प्लानिंग में सुधार करना होगा और भविष्य के घरों को और ज्यादा थर्मल कंफर्ट के हिसाब से बनाना होगा। इसका मतलब यह नहीं है कि ऐसे कई घरों में एयर कंडीशनिंग की आवश्यकता नहीं होगी। लेकिन उनके डिजाइन का मतलब यह होगा कि एयर कंडीशनर कम घंटों तक चलेंगे। चेतिया कहती हैं, “[भूतल + 4 मंजिल] से ऊंचा बनाने का मतलब है कि आप कार्बन उत्सर्जन बढ़ा रहे हैं, क्योंकि आपको और ज्यादा ऊपर जाने के लिए अधिक ठोस घनत्व की आवश्यकता होती है, आपको लिफ्ट की आवश्यकता होती है, आपको फायर सिस्टम और दूसरी चीजों की जरूरत होती है।” इसलिए वह इमारतों को उच्च घनत्व, लेकिन कम ऊंचा रखने का सुझाव देती हैं। जब इमारतों को लगातार एयर कंडीशनर की आवश्यकता नहीं होती है तो उत्सर्जन अपने आप कम हो जाता है। इस खबर में इलेस्ट्रेशन के लिए इनपुट नई दिल्ली स्थित सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट के प्रोग्राम मैनेजर सुजीत ग्रोवर और ग्रीनटेक नॉलेज सॉल्यूशंस में आर्किटेक्ट और एसोसिएट डायरेक्टर सास्वती चेतिया से मिला है।

• Sustainable Habitat

Green housing in urban India is no walk in the park

In a quest to produce modern homes quickly, developers building mass housing complexes find it challenging to also keep green factors in mind. In the first of a two-part series, CarbonCopy explores what these challenges are and how they are being tackled, if at all India is home to more than a billion people. A growing population and rising urbanisation requires housing solutions that are not only affordable, but also use resources juduciously, have a lower carbon footprint and cater to the needs of residents all the same. In 2021, 63,000 housing units were sold in Mumbai alone and the other metropolitan areas of India recorded a significant increase in housing sales as well. But how many of these houses are green and sustainable? Moreover, how many buyers are asking such questions while looking for a house to buy? As per the UN’s Global Status Report for Buildings and Constructions 2021, the construction sector was responsible for about 37% of carbon emissions globally. This calls for a growing need to build sustainably. Green building in India There are two agencies in India that certify buildings as green. These are Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) and Indian Green Building Council (IGBC). IGBC had set a target to achieve 10 billion sqft (100 crore sqft) of green building by this year. Till 2019, 7 billion sqft of it had been achieved with 1.4 million green homes covering 1.9 billion sqft. Has the demand for sustainable homes increased overtime? “Those who value sustainability have always opted for such homes. Overall, the idea of building green is more prevalent among developers who build projects like villas. Now the ones making apartments are taking this up too,” said Nilanjan Bhowal, Principal Architect at Design Consortium, a Delhi-based architectural firm. Luxury housing projects like villas always have bigger budgets and larger share of land, so it becomes easier to incorporate sustainable elements. The challenge is building mass housing complexes while keeping green factors in mind. “When you are building a multi-story residential building, the budget and timeline become the major drivers. With a tight timeline, it is designed in such a way that the execution is quick,” remarks Aquin Noel, a Chennai-based architect. “The sustainability of a building depends largely on three factors: the construction palette, the building’s response to local climate, and the form of the building,” said Pankaj Joshi, conservation architect and principal director Urban Centre Mumbai. What kind of materials are being used? Has the building been designed as per the local climate? Is it a high-rise building or a low one? In a quest to produce modern homes quickly, many integral aspects of traditional architecture design are now looked over. Earlier, the designs ensured a passive way of responding to the climate. For instance, using filters like jaalis in Rajasthan to battle the hot and dry weather or building verandas and courtyards in Mumbai and parts of Konkan to modulate the monsoons was common. “Buildings which are being built now are not being governed by their response to climate. What you are building in Delhi would be the same thing you’d build in Chennai, or you’d build in Mumbai or Bengaluru. Now there’s an active response to climatic conditions by using air conditioners, coolers, dehumidifiers etc. which requires more energy,” added Joshi. Therefore, the procedure of building green differs from a typical construction. To begin with, the design for a sustainable house differs to include aspects that reduce energy demand and decarbonise the power supply. “Thickness of walls, for instance, has to be considered. Typically, 6-inch walls are designed but for such homes, walls have to be insulated, especially the ones facing south-east direction as exposure to heat is maximum there,” said Sandeep Sonigra, designated partner at the Pune-based developing firm Orange County Group, which specialises in building green and has received GRIHA 5 star rating and IGBC platinum rating for their projects. Insulating walls and roofs decreases the trapping of heat and saves energy required for cooling. Incorporating dual plumbing to ensure that drinking water is not used for flushing can be incorporated here. Apart from decreasing the need for energy usage, access to clean energy is an important aspect of a green home. Back in 2007, Sonigra started his firm with the idea of providing homes with green electricity generated on-site. In his projects, every apartment comes with free of cost electricity generated by solar panels, a metre that notifies in case a household is exceeding the certain limit of the free electricity provided. In that case, the residents pay for the difference. Along with that, a solar water heating system, with a capacity to heat and store 125 litres of water for each household, is built and connected to each apartment. Solar panels and individual solar hot water systems are set up on the terrace. Photo: Sandeep Sonigra Solar panels and individual solar hot water systems are set up on the terrace. Photo: Sandeep Sonigra Solar panels and individual solar hot water systems are set up on the terrace. Photo: Sandeep Sonigra Solar panels and individual solar hot water systems are set up on the terrace. Photo: Sandeep Sonigra Solar panels and individual solar hot water systems are set up on the terrace. Photo: Sandeep Sonigra The choice of construction material “Over the last hundred years or so, the construction palette has shrunk. Use of mixed materials like stone, mud, bricks, timber, copper, iron, lime and jaggery, that have a long life has stopped, age old practices have been lost. We have more or less restricted ourselves to only two materials: cement/concrete and steel structures,” added Joshi. Largely still these two components that Joshi mentions dominate the construction palette, but some pockets are observing a return to roots. “The material specification is also changing gradually. There was a time when people wanted only Italian marble. Now people have come back to more sustainable, local materials like Kota stone or Jaisalmer stone, etc. Indian materials rather than imported with lesser embodied energy are used,” informed Bhowal. Choosing safe, environmentally friendly, local materials helps in minimisation of environmental impact from building activity. In his work, Bhowal has swapped typical bricks for walls with sand lime blocks and fly ash bricks, which are much more energy efficient and have a low carbon footprint. Using a lime mixture for plastering instead of cement. Photo: Sandeep Sonigra Fly ash bricks, which are made by upcycling the residue from thermal plants, being used while building. Photo: Nilanjan Bhowal Using a lime mixture for plastering instead of cement. Photo: Sandeep Sonigra Fly ash bricks, which are made by upcycling the residue from thermal plants, being used while building. Photo: Nilanjan Bhowal Fly ash bricks, which are made by upcycling the residue from thermal plants, being used while building. Photo: Nilanjan Bhowal To cut out the use of cement, Sonigrah also uses lime mixture for bricks and plaster instead. While using lime gets 20% costlier, it has a longer life cycle, is cooler compared to cement, which results in lower cooling requirements. So, in the long term, lime proves to be more cost effective. Producing limestone is also known to sequester atmospheric carbon. The parameters to define if a material is sustainable or not need to be revised. “The parameters are not robust enough. Certain parameters are well defined, say the strength needed for a material to be able to qualify as a construction material. But what is the metric to say that material has to perform this much in terms of thermal comfort? What environmental criteria are you using when you choose a material and promote it?” added Sugeet Grover, programme manager, Sustainable Buildings and Habitat Programme, Centre for Science and Environment. Building Material Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) releases such compendiums for construction technology and materials. In a welcome move, now they have started promoting local materials to build houses with better environmental performances. Taller buildings, towering problems High-rise buildings may be an icon of progress, modernity, and luxury, but they are not a sustainable housing solution. Tall buildings are energy intensive because of the constant up and down movement that happens while using lifts. There’s one thing to understand before we may think that taller buildings are good because they are able to provide more space—FSI i.e. Floor Space Index. It is the maximum permitted construction on a piece of land. So, for instance, if a land area of 100 square metres is available and FSI is 3, then construction upto 300 square metres is legally allowed. Now, it is the choice of the constructor to build 3 floors of 100 square metres each or 30 floors of 10 square metres. The form of the building—high or low—does not define the density of the building. Therefore, low-rise, high density settlements are cost effective and energy efficient ways of building. Another issue is the technology that is now being used widely in big cities to construct big housing complexes —mivan technology. Conventionally, concrete columns take the load of the structure while walls are made of bricks. In mivan technology, a formwork is made which is then filled with concrete mixture to build walls, where walls take the load of the structure. It is like pouring a cake batter in a vertical baking tray, where each wall is a baking tray. Although much quicker, this technology replaces brick and uses significantly more concrete. Apart from the fact that these walls have a higher carbon footprint, these are also thinner and have weaker insulating properties. Are the consumers aware of such technicalities? “Once I saw that it was being sold as an ‘RCC construction’ based building. But does the consumer understand? Do they understand that walls made using this technology are much less thermally efficient and will demand more energy consumption?” added Grover. Even while building high rises, using new and more efficient technologies can also significantly contribute towards saving energy. A regular lift will always use the same amount of energy, regardless of the weight inside it. A torque based lift, however, functions differently. Depending on the weight inside the lift, the energy consumption used for the lift to function also varies. The minimum energy, equivalent to the load inside the lift, will do the job, saving a chunk of energy (about 66% less as per Sonigra) which otherwise would have been used by a regular lift.

• Urban Lab

The Sunday Read: In a chokehold

Bengaluru has turned out to be the second most polluted city in the southern region of India during the summer of 2022. According to an analysis of summer air quality undertaken by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, the IT capital of the country has grabbed the second spot out of the 39 cities across

• Sustainable Food Systems

No Country For Organic: Why Punjab Finds It Hard To Quit Chemical Farming

Punjab has amongst the highest use of fertilisers, pesticides and large machinery, including government support for chemical farming, making it difficult for to transition to organic and natural farming Chandigarh: When Ashok Kumar, 63, started doing organic farming on three acres of his farm in Sohangarh Rattewala village in Punjab's western Ferozepur district in 2012, the benefits of good health and a cleaner environment were foremost on his mind. Besides growing food for his family, he was also able to sell the surplus to customers who sought organic produce. By 2016, he had decided to grow chemical-free fruit, vegetables, grains and oilseeds on his entire 16 acres, but the scaling up did not yield expected returns. "I opened a shop in [nearby] Muktsar town in collaboration with six other organic farmers. We also took our produce to a weekend organic market in Jalandhar [three-and-a-half hours away by road], but despite putting in so much effort and money, we continued to make losses," he recalled. There just weren't enough customers, he told IndiaSpend. "We had to shut down the shop and I eventually reduced the area under organic farming back to three acres, for my own family's consumption. The rest of the land is now given on lease to another farmer, who uses chemical fertilisers and pesticides." Kumar's story is not reflective of all farmers who are trying to do chemical-free farming in Punjab, but many would relate to his predicament. Their passion for chemical-free, natural farming runs contrary to the longstanding farming culture of the state, our reporting found. The terms 'organic' and 'natural' farming are used interchangeably in India, with farmers using a mix of methods. In natural farming, if defined strictly, the focus is on the use of bio-inputs prepared from farm and local ecosystems, instead of purchasing these. Organic farming is defined more from a perspective of product certification and marketing (read more in our July 2022 explainer on natural farming). On the ground, these terms are used more fluidly. This is the second in our series on natural farming, and explores why it is hard for farmers in Punjab, the food bowl of India, to move to chemical-free farming, now being pushed by the Union government and through policy. "The whole [agricultural] ecosystem in Punjab is built around chemical farming, compared to other parts of India, because we were the frontrunner state during the green revolution. This model is supported both by the state and the market through research, extension services, machines, seeds and assured procurement of wheat and rice. So, it's much easier and remunerative to do chemical farming here," farmer Kamaljeet Hayer, who had partnered with Kumar in setting up the organic produce shop, told IndiaSpend. "Organic farming requires at least 10 times more effort than chemical farming because it's labour-intensive and the returns are modest." Among states outside of the northeast, the area under organic farming in Punjab is one of the lowest, official data show. Why Punjab needs to move away from chemicals in farming 'Green Revolution' is the name given to the period in the 1960s-70s when India imported new hybrid seed varieties to increase the production of wheat and rice, which could then be supplied at subsidised rates through the public distribution system (PDS). Punjab was chosen to be the first site to try new varieties because of higher water availability from its rivers and its fertile soil. The new seeds required adequate doses of chemical fertilisers and water to give the promised yields. The Indian government started subsidising the inputs, besides establishing the research and extension services to improve the new seeds and also take the practices to the people. The assured procurement for PDS further enthused farmers to participate. Today, after around 60 years of intensive agriculture, Punjab has grown economically, but stares at an agro-ecological crisis. There is excessive use of agro-chemicals causing environmental toxicity, high dependence on wheat-rice crop cycle impacting biodiversity and soil health, and costly machinery which made farming easier but also led to high indebtedness. Though average farm income in Punjab remains one of the highest in the country, per the National Statistical Organisation's Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holdings of Households in Rural India (SAS) 2019 survey, its growth has slowed at a higher rate than the national average since 2013-14, per government data. There is, however, no disruption yet in the way agriculture is practised, our reporting found. Punjab accounts for 4% of the country's cropped area but for 8% of all chemical pesticides used. A 2005 study by the Centre for Science and Environment, referenced by a Parliamentary standing committee on agriculture report in 2016, found residues of 6-13 pesticides in blood samples of Punjab villagers. Punjab also has one of the highest chemical fertiliser consumption rates in India at 213 kg per hectare, compared to the national average of 128 kg per hectare. Further, there is an imbalance in fertiliser use. Against the desirable ratio of 4:2:1 of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, Punjab's ratio is as high as 31:8:1, the committee report said. "Inadequate use of micronutrient fertilizers is aggravating trace element deficiencies in soils in many areas. The crops grown on these soils are, generally, deficient in micronutrients. These deficiencies are linked with malnutrition and health disorders in humans and animals," the report added. Excessive use of nitrogenous fertilisers in Punjab also lead to higher levels of nitrates in the state's groundwater, which has been linked to cancer and blue baby syndrome (when haemoglobin in the blood loses its capacity to carry oxygen, resulting in asphyxia and death), a 2009 Greenpeace study had said. Around 20% of all sampled wells in three districts of Punjab had nitrate levels above the safety limit recommended by the World Health Organization, the study had found. This nitrate pollution was clearly linked with the usage of synthetic nitrogen fertilisers as the study found higher nitrate levels in farms which had higher application of fertilisers. The 2018 draft Punjab State Farmers' Policy had proposed an annual reduction of 10% in use of agro chemicals. Problems with transitioning to chemical-free farming The area certified under organic farming in India rose from about 345,000 hectares in 2011-12 to 2.66 million hectares in 2020-21. The practice, however, is not easy. Major problems are a drop in crop yield, infestation of weeds and paucity of farm labour, agriculturalists told us. "Despite several benefits to health and environment, organic farmers face multiple challenges. A land used to chemical fertilisers for decades would require at least three years to recover its fertility," Umendra Dutt, executive director of Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM), a non-profit organisation based in Jaito, Faridkot district, campaigning for organic farming in Punjab, told IndiaSpend. "An organic farm would have a greater need for manual labour and the work is also very intensive. From treatment of seeds to preparation of green manure, optimum selection of crop pattern, regular monitoring, de-weeding, mulching, composting and careful harvesting are just some of the basic requirements for chemical-free farming. This [labour-intensive process] makes it difficult to find people who are willing to work in these fields." Further, big machinery doesn't suit organic farms because these usually grow mixed crops while most machines are designed for mono-cropped wheat and rice fields. There is also a chance of contamination. "I can't hire a combine harvester which has also harvested a crop from a chemical farm because grains from those farms can enter my fields. I have to maintain the purity of my seed," said Rahul Sharma, an IT engineer-turned farmer who grows organic produce on 11 acres in Kapurthala and Patiala districts. "This means I have to hire manual labour because smaller, handheld power-operated machines are either not available or don't enjoy the subsidies the big machines do." Babban, a farm worker, de-weeding and preparing the soil at an organic farm in Chandigarh, August 13, 2022. Sher Singh of Mirpur village in Jalandhar district finds it difficult to manage weeds on his six-acre farm, especially during the rainy season. "I use sprinklers for irrigating my vegetables because that helps control the weeds but when it rains, the infestation grows many folds. Someone practising chemical farming would just throw some herbicide and get done with it while I have to hire manual labour. Organic farming is not only a slower process but also costlier," he said. "This labour shortage can be met if the government allows workers under MGNREGA [the rural job guarantee programme] to assist on organic farms. We can pay the government a part of the daily wage of these workers." Of the total workers in Punjab, only 35% are engaged in agriculture while the national average is 54.6%. One reason for this is heavy use of machines in the state; Punjab is home to nearly 450,000 tractors, one tractor for every 9 hectares of cultivated land, compared with the national average of one per 62 hectares. Between 2000 and 2019, the number of harvester combines in Punjab nearly tripled to 800,000. The investment in big and costly machinery has, however, led to high indebtedness, per a 2014 study by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana. Farm households in Punjab are among the most heavily indebted in India, per the SAS 2019 survey. Around 54% of farming households are indebted in the state, with average debt of Rs 2.03 lakh. Loans taken for farm inputs like agrochemicals and machinery formed 52% of the total debt incurred by farmers, the PAU study had found. For small farmers, the share went up to 68%, which reduced their borrowing capacity for other purposes like healthcare and social ceremonies. Why Punjab needs to move away from mono-cropping The 'Green Revolution' also oriented Punjab towards wheat-rice crop rotation through assured procurement at minimum support price (MSP). Rice is neither a staple of Punjab's diet nor suited to the agro climatic character of the region. India must shift rice growing east from Punjab and Haryana while encouraging wheat cultivation in the rice-growing regions of Punjab and Haryana, to help prevent an impending water crisis by 2030, IndiaSpend reported in June 2019. About 4,118 litres of water is required to grow one kilogram of rice in Punjab, compared to 2,169 litres in West Bengal, a natural habitat for the crop, estimates by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices show. In 1960-61, 4.8% of the total cropped area in the state was under rice. By 2019-20, the share of rice had increased nearly 10-fold to 40.1%, per Punjab Directorate of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare data, quoted in the Punjab Economic Survey 2020-21. The area under wheat went from 27.3% to 45% in the same period. Thus, between them, rice and wheat accounted for 85% of the cropped area in the state at last count. This shift towards mono cropping was brought about by assured procurement and price support, and came at the cost of maize, millets, barley, pulses and oilseeds, said the survey. "Overemphasis on wheat-rice rotation has made our ecosystem unstable not only in terms of groundwater depletion…Diseases and pests can spread easily through swathes of mono cropped fields with no biological controls. Mixed cropping can prevent that," Ramesh Arora, former professor of entomology at PAU, told IndiaSpend. "Farmers should rotate crops on their fields every two-three years to prevent pests and pathogens becoming habitual to the land. Also plant more trees which provide habitat to birds who are the most effective biological controls against pests. Pesticides should be our last line of defence but sadly it has become the first priority." Continuous cultivation without any crop rotation also depletes soil nutrients, resulting in weaker crops highly dependent on chemical fertilisers and pesticides. "Organic farmers know the importance of soil health and tend to rotate crops to maintain yields. They use natural methods of pest control and fertilise the soil regularly by growing green manure or nitrogen fixing crops," Seema Jolly, an organic farmer and coordinator of an organic market near Chandigarh, told IndiaSpend. The state government has been promoting crop diversification, asking farmers to grow crops other than rice but with little success. Even after spending Rs 274 crore on a crop diversification programme during 2014-19, the sown area of rice increased by 7.18% in Punjab at the cost of other crops, found an audit report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. This year, the Punjab government reportedly asked farmers to grow moong (green gram) as the third crop in the (summer) window between wheat harvesting and growing rice. The government promised to procure the produce at MSP if the moong crop is followed by Basmati or PR 126 variety of rice, both of which take less time to grow and require less water compared to long duration rice. The announcement led to the cultivated area under moong rising by 77% over the previous season. While the announcement was mainly seen as a move to increase farmers' income and to reduce the state's dependence on import of pulses, it will also reduce use of fertilisers in the subsequent rice crop. Moong fixes nitrogen in the soil, thus reducing the need for synthetic nitrogen fertilisers. However, the harvesting of the moong crop saw rampant use of weedicides. Jagmohan Singh in Patiala town, general secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Dakaunda), one of the farm unions which participated in the 2020-21 farmers protests against the three farm bills, feels crop diversification can be the first step towards sustainable agriculture. "Currently, most agro chemicals are used on wheat and rice. Once the government starts promoting alternate crops, the use of chemicals will reduce automatically. The crops which are introduced as replacement, however, should fetch the same profit as these two crops," he told IndiaSpend. Organic farmers feel the state government needs to push for millets. "Millets would yield much greater benefits because they are known to be rich sources of nutrition, require less irrigation, grow without agro chemicals and leave no waste. Just shifting 10% of rice area to millets can bring a huge change," said Rahul Sharma, the IT engineer-turned farmer. "The produce can be provided to children under the mid-day meal scheme. So with one move, you can solve problems of malnutrition, groundwater depletion, food toxicity, and straw burning, besides conserving biodiversity." Government support required One of the issues farmers face when they shift to organic is drop in crop yield. "I suggest new farmers start with small plots. If they stop using chemical fertilisers at one go, there will be a big loss of yield which will dishearten them," said farmer Sher Singh. "After a few years of using green manure and bio-fertilisers, the soil regains its natural fertility and the production picks up while farmers get used to the new market." Dutt, the social activist, feels the farmers not only need hand-holding but also financial assistance. "Besides the assured price and procurement of alternate crops, farmers need a transition package. If governments made them go for chemical farming during the Green Revolution, it's their duty to get them out as well by supporting organic farmers." Organic (and natural) farmers should also get assistance, which chemical farms get in the form of indirect subsidy on fertilisers and farm machines or research and extension services, he said. The all-India fertiliser subsidy is expected to touch Rs 2.15 lakh crore this year, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on May 21, 2022. This would be a 64% increase over fertiliser subsidy expenditure in 2020-21. A transition package could also be linked to ecosystem services. "The government is currently supporting a system that's harmful for everyone. On the other hand, our organic farming uses less water and power, causes no chemical pollution, no straw burning, promotes biodiversity, provides more nutrition while also sequestering more carbon in the soil thus mitigating climate crisis. We should be rewarded for providing all these ecosystem services," said farmer Rahul Sharma. "Such incentives will also make organic food more affordable to poor and middle class families rather than being accessible only to the elite consumers." Food and trade policy expert Devinder Sharma feels Punjab needs to breed new crop varieties that respond well to organic inputs rather than agro chemicals. "If Punjab could be the seat of the green revolution, it can also be the seat of the evergreen revolution but this would require a policy shift and research," he told IndiaSpend. The existing infrastructure and marketing network needs to be reorientated towards organic, Sharma said, adding that the government can learn from Andhra Pradesh, where around 700,000 farmers have shifted to organic farming because of state government support, and research and extension services for them. [More in our next story on natural farming in Andhra Pradesh.] We requested a comment from the director of agriculture, Gurvinder Singh, on how the state is supporting organic farming. He asked us to contact Punjab Agro Industries Corporation Limited, the nodal government agency for organic farming in Punjab. Tarun Sen, a manager from Punjab Agro, said that they support farmers through training and awareness camps on organic farming. They also have a distribution channel for marketing of organic products. "Government of Punjab through Punjab Agri Export Corporation Limited (PAGREXCO) is implementing the Organic Program by providing institutional support to the organic farmers of the State," the general manager of PAGREXCO, a subsidiary of Punjab Agro, said in an email response. They also train farmers for "Organic Farm Management as per organic certification standards and facilitating third-party certification", as per the email. PAGREXCO also buys organic produce directly from its certified organic farmers at remunerative prices and markets the produce for the domestic and foreign market. They also help farmers in getting a "dedicated space allocated in government marketing yards/offices in cities for organic produce". PAGREXCO is running an 'Organic Hut' in Chandigarh, and that model will be replicated in other cities, the general manager wrote in the email. Market and consumers An organic market at Kaimbwala village near Chandigarh on August 13, 2022. In absence of substantial state support, farmers and concerned citizens have themselves tried to set up models of marketing and social support. They got together to organise weekly organic markets in which farmers brought their produce to central spots of major cities in Punjab for sale. This model worked well, but the pandemic and lockdown disrupted the whole set up. "I was taking my produce to a private school in Jalandhar where the organic market was held every Sunday. After the lockdown, however, the market did not pick up and we also suffered heavy losses because the produce was not sold," said Sher Singh. "Now, I am just left with the 15-20 customers who are regulars for the last 12 years." At the weekend organic farmers' market organised for two hours at a football academy in Kaimbwala village near Chandigarh, organisers were worried about the low footfall. "We are just getting around 25 customers which is not promising. Before Covid lockdown, we would have around 100-150 buyers. Maybe people have just turned to the online medium and are buying branded organic," said Seema Jolly, one of the coordinators of the market. "I think the government needs to step in and provide a space where the produce can be sold. We are trying to run this market since 2015 moving from one spot to another because there is no permanent place." After making losses in the shop he opened in collaboration with other organic farmers, Kamaljeet Hayer has now taken to farm tourism. He has rabbits, parrots, ducks and hens besides a herbal garden, fruit trees and rooms made with traditional architecture which attract people from cities, who want to experience rural life. "I have also stopped dealing in vegetables and started processing perishable items to increase their shelf lives. The produce, including dry ration, oil and pickles, now gets picked up from the farm thus saving me the money on transportation. The farm has become profitable this year but it's still not substantial and can't sustain my family," Hayer said. Rahul Sharma, who has built a steady customer base in and around Chandigarh, is keen on taking the business online. "Nobody has cracked the organic code yet. I am able to experiment because farming is not my main source of income. For an individual farmer to sell online, they need to set up a consistent production, processing and supply chain, get a GST number, approval from FSSAI, prepare packaging material and negotiate other procedural hurdles," he said. "Once that's done, they will find that shipping heavy packages like a 10 kg wheat flour pack does not make economic sense. Those who are able to do it either have deep pockets or bulk orders. I have no choice but to focus on items that can be sent in small packets like dalia." Ashok Kumar of Sohangarh Rattewala village is thinking of getting back to farming after buying farm equipment. "I had sold off all those machines because they were of no use in organic cultivation," he said. "Will slowly procure them again and get back to the land. There is nothing else I know besides farming. But not organic this time."

• Water Programme

As We ‘Beautify’ Our Country, Our Children Inherit Our Sham Green Clearances

While we may not be around to watch our children enjoy or squander what we saved, nature’s wrath will prove to be more or less instant. While we all rush around buying life insurance and squirrelling away savings in fixed deposits to ensure a brighter future for our children, a nation’s wealth is being squandered away with impunity. Riverine wealth, the wealth of riverfronts and cityscapes, the wealth of pristine primaeval forests and mountains. And while we may not be around to watch our children enjoy or squander what we saved, nature’s wrath will prove to be more or less instant. While our forest dwellers stand negated as troublemaking Naxals in today’s India, as do protesting academics and people of intellect, from every city and mountain pour in stories of man-made natural disasters: floods in Varanasi after the recent tampering on the riverfront in the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, ditto in Pune with its own riverfront “beautification” and “re-development” project only half complete. While Ahmedabad is now settling into almost getting used to annual flooding due to its own precursor riverfront redevelopment project inaugurated in 2012, and along which we not so long ago watched the spectacle of India’s prime minister fete the president of China. Landslides in mountainous areas in Uttaranchal have shattered us all and taken lives with their frightening intensity this year – where the fragile and unstable Himalayan terrain lies already scarred by the ongoing heavy earthwork and tampering to broaden roads for every mofussil uncle-ji to be able to access the four Panch Kedar Dhams (that hitherto only stoic and godly renunciants and sages retreated to escape the very same uncle-ji’s ancestors and their ilk, obsessed with karma and amassing dhan in their state of Arishadvarga lust). We mango people watch in horror from the sidelines as various watchdog bodies contemplate allowing rampant mining in Assam’s Dehing Patkai forests and “development” of water aerodromes and townships in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. We watch as the Chhattisgarh government moves to allow rampant coal mining and forest-dweller displacement in the thick forests of Hasdeo Aranya. Among a few common threads that run through all these disasters, whether already unleashed or in the making, is a particular schema introduced in 1994 through the concept of the ‘environment impact assessment’, which was precisely to protect the nation’s natural wealth from the inevitable stupidity of human depredations and the cupidity of India’s political elites. Originally devised to bring the weight of environmental scientists and academics to evaluate every such proposal, expectedly mostly inane ones since such is endemic to India and visible ever since Independence, whatever the current dispensation, and have the power to stop or beneficially modify disasters in the making, as things stand today that watchdog too has been co-opted like most other watchdog Institutions. Quoting from the Centre for Science And Environment: “The Indian experience with Environmental Impact Assessment began over 20 years back. It started in 1976-77 when the Planning Commission asked the Department of Science and Technology to examine the river-valley projects from an environmental angle. This was subsequently extended to cover those projects, which required the approval of the Public Investment Board. Till 1994, environmental clearance from the Central Government was an administrative decision and lacked legislative support. On 27 January 1994, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF), Government of India, under the Environmental (Protection) Act 1986, promulgated an EIA notification making Environmental Clearance (EC) mandatory for expansion or modernisation of any activity or for setting up new projects listed in Schedule 1 of the notification. Since then there have been 12 amendments made in the EIA notification of 1994.” Each of the propositions that led to the disasters mentioned above has thus received its own stamp of approval in the form of an Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) clearance. And the wise Government of India has even moved to further dilute the process of such clearances, exempting many commercial activities from purview, allowing post facto clearances of existing transgressions, and removing the need for public consultations for even grossly polluting and scarring interventions into our nation’s land and water masses. Elaborate environmental impact assessment studies and resultant reports have been allegedly prepared; State Pollution Control Boards and forest departments have allegedly studied their accuracy and possible impact; district collectors have allegedly held public hearings; citizens and panchayats have allegedly been given a chance to voice their concerns and misgivings; the inimitable environment ministry has allegedly studied the ‘no objection certificates’ granted at state levels; multidisciplinary expert teams have allegedly prepared environmental appraisals, after alleged site visits and consultations with affected populations; and then constituted environmental appraisal committees of alleged experts who met to ponder and pontificate; allegedly arranging further public hearings to “ensure public participation in developmental decisions” – to finally (!) accord their approvals or rejections. That each of those tragedies received its own rubber-stamp of ministerial and expert approval is a known fact. But how one would love to now gather the experts of each of the EACs that approved the Varanasi, Ahmedabad and Pune riverfronts, or the Chhota Char Dham access roads, and confront them with the results of their allegedly intelligent and informed approvals. Like most things in New India, it would be a joke of epic proportions if it wasn’t a tragedy of even more gargantuan dimensions. While we are quick to rush to WhatsApp to crow with undisguised pride, with an added dollop of wild imagination, about India’s ancient prowess at social organisation, science, medicine and other pathbreaking achievements, it seems to escape the collective national consciousness that as other nations of the world (sometimes even through their leaders of much-vaunted Indian descent) are now ruing the past depredations of wanton ‘development’ of the post-industrialised world and devising protocols and curbs against global weather change, environmental degradation and other ills that have now come to haunt weather as well as habitats, flora and fauna worldwide and especially apparent now in the 21st century. Yes, of course, we clever Indians are so far elevated above such mere concerns and our natural environment immune to all that man may wreak upon it. Come, let us “develop”, “beautify”, “exploit” to our hearts content.