• Water Programme

दिल्ली सरकार ने 30 जूनियर पर्यावरण इंजीनियरों व 22 ग्रीन दिल्ली फेलो को नियुक्त किया

दिल्ली सरकार ने बुधवार को 30 जूनियर पर्यावरण इंजीनियरों और 22 ग्रीन दिल्ली फेलो को नियुक्त किया है। इंजीनियर और फेलो सरकार के पर्यावरण प्रवर्तन और नियामक उपायों से जुड़े प्रयासों को मजबूती देंगे। सरकार के लिए पहले से ही यह उच्च प्राथमिकता पर हैं। दिल्ली की हरित पहल में योगदान देने के लिए युवा ग्रीन फेलो दिल्ली सरकार द्वारा शुरू किए गए फैलोशिप कार्यक्रम का हिस्सा हैं। जबकि जूनियर पर्यावरण इंजीनियर दिल्ली प्रदूषण नियंत्रण समिति (डीपीसीसी) के लिए अतिरिक्त कर्मचारियों के रूप में कार्य करेंगे। पर्यावरण मंत्री गोपाल राय ने कहा कि हरित दिल्ली फैलोशिप कार्यक्रम अरविंद केजरीवाल सरकार द्वारा दिल्ली के पर्यावरण को बेहतर करने के लिए युवा पेशेवरों के लिए शुरू की गई एक अनूठी पहल है। युवाओं को भर्ती करके डीपीसीसी को और भी मजबूत किया गया है। पिछले करीब तीन दशकों में पहली बार 30 जूनियर पर्यावरण इंजीनियर भर्ती किए गए हैं। पर्यावरण मंत्री की सलाहकार रीना गुप्ता ने कहा कि पर्यावरण विभाग द्वारा की जा रही पहलों को ग्रीन दिल्ली फेलो बढ़ावा देंगे। फेलोशिप इन युवा पेशेवरों को एक्सपोजर भी प्रदान करेगी। दिल्ली के पर्यावरण में बदलाव लाने के लिए अगले कुछ वर्षों तक साथ-साथ कार्य करेंगे। इससे उन्हें आने वाले समय में पर्यावरणविद् बनने में भी मदद मिलेगी। दिल्ली सरकार के वरिष्ठ अधिकारियों की निगरानी में फेलो और इंजीनियर वायु प्रदूषण से लेकर यमुना की सफाई, ठोस अपशिष्ट प्रबंधन और अन्य पर्यावरणीय मुद्दों पर काम करेंगे। ग्रीन फेलो इन कार्यों के बीच डेटा विश्लेषण, फील्ड वर्क, शोध आदि में भी सहयोग करेंगे। नई भर्तियां वन विभाग को भी मजबूत करेंगी और सरकार के वानिकी कार्यक्रमों में मदद करेंगी। पर्यावरण और वन विभाग के प्रधान सचिव संजीव खिरवार, पर्यावरण मंत्री की सलाहकार रीना गुप्ता, डीपीसीसी के सदस्य सचिव डॉ केएस जयचंद्रन ने 3 दिवसीय ऑनलाइन ओरिएंटेशन कार्यक्रम के दौरान ग्रीन फेलो और जेईई को संबोधित किया। ओरिएंटेशन कार्यक्रम युवा प्रोफेशनल को पर्यावरण शासन, वायु प्रदूषण, ठोस अपशिष्ट प्रबंधन, ग्रेडेड रिस्पांस एक्शन प्लान सहित अन्य विषयों से अवगत कराने के लिए डिज़ाइन किया गया था। सेंटर फॉर पॉलिसी रिसर्च (सीपीआर), काउंसिल ऑन एनर्जी, एनवायरनमेंट एंड वॉटर (सीईईडब्ल्यू) और सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) के विशेषज्ञों ने 3 दिवसीय कार्यक्रम के दौरान युवाओं को संबोधित किया।

• Sustainable Food Systems

CSE bats for organic and natural farming

“Despite the push given to it through periodic pronouncements from India’s leaders, the country’s efforts to upscale non-chemical farming practices have largely remained half-hearted at best. Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) new report on the subject presents robust evidence which makes it clear that we can upscale organic and natural farming. It is time to invest adequately in a well-funded nation-wide programme for this”: said Sunita Narain, director general, CSE here today. She was releasing CSE’s report -- Evidence (2004-20) on holistic benefits of organic and natural farming in India – at an online event here today. The report had a ‘community’ release -- representatives of the community which has been practicing or promoting organic and natural farming across the country joined in to release it along with Narain (see the full list below). The coming of the report immediately after the Budget is especially opportune. The Finance Minister has made a pitch for promoting chemical-free natural farming, and has encouraged states to revise the syllabi in their agricultural universities keeping in line with this new push. “But,” says Amit Khurana, programme director, Sustainable Food Systems programme, CSE and co-author of the CSE report, "these are relatively small steps compared to the need of the hour, and especially after the prime minister's appeal in December to make natural farming a mass movement.” Khurana adds: “Hopefully, our new report, which highlights that there is strong long-term evidence that organic and natural farming is not only profitable and sustainable but also productive, will propel the country to invest more adequately to upscale and encourage such a mass movement." What the report presents The report presents evidence collected and collated on aspects such as crop yield; cost of cultivation, income and livelihood, soil health and environment, and food quality and nutrients. It is based on two sets of sources: Results of the All-India Network Project on Organic Farming (AI-NPOF), 2004-19 -- The project is currently being implemented across 20 centres in 16 states. The report compares results of three approaches -- organic, integrated (which partly involves chemicals) and inorganic (dependent on chemicals). About 90 scientific studies on organic and natural farming published during 2010-20 in India – these collectively add to and complement the overall evidence. The report makes a clear case to consider the holistic benefits of organic and natural farming, such as those related to livelihoods, soil health and environment (instead of only yield) in future policies and programmes. Specifically, through the AI-NPOF results, it presents long-term evidence on how benefits of organic approach outweigh that of inorganic approach (and also integrated approach to a large extent), with respect to profitability parameters such as net returns and soil health parameters like organic carbon, macronutrients, micronutrients, bulk density and rhizosphere microbial population. The evidence collected by the report bring out some interesting details: Evidence on crop yield: Out of the 504 times that yield results were recorded during 2014-19, the yields were found to be highest 41 per cent of the times with organic approach, followed by 33 per cent with integrated, and 26 per cent with inorganic approach. Evidence on income and livelihoods: Out of 61 cropping systems, net returns have been seen to be the highest in 64 per cent with organic approach at 12 centres, 11 per cent with integrated approach at four centres, and 25 per cent with inorganic approach at five centres. The five-year mean net returns with organic approach are higher than inorganic in 67 per cent cropping systems. Evidence on soil health: Cropping systems with organic approach have scored the highest in terms of all the parametres on soil health – organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The report’s findings on soil bulk density, soil bacteria, fungi, micronutrients etc also offer a similar verdict. “It is surprising how the results of the government’s own All India Network Project on organic farming, which has been present in the public domain for the last several years, did not get the required attention. It is also a concern how the entire issue so far has focused on yields and not on livelihoods and soil health benefits,” says Khurana. “It is evident that organic approach has fared better than integrated on profitability and sustainability and is almost at par with it in the case of productivity,” points out Abhay Kumar Singh, programme manager, Sustainable Food Systems Programme in CSE and a co-author of the report. Adds his co-author and the Programme’s deputy manager, Abdul Halim: “There is proof that natural farming involves low costs and helps in introducing resilient crops, energy and water efficiency, plant and animal biodiversity, carbon sequestration and climate mitigation.” The report recommends actions needed to upscale organic and natural farming – building a well-funded ambitious programme; training and supporting farmers during transition; making available quality organic fertilisers and biofertilisers; enabling agriculture extension systems; farmer-friendly certification; enabling market access; and action at the state level. Concluding the discussions at the release of the report, Narain said: “We now know that there are enough reasons to upscale organic and natural farming. We hope that the larger scientific community and policymakers recognise the strong case that we now have to transform the non-chemical farming initiatives in our country into a mass movement.”

• Sustainable Food Systems

CSE bats for organic and natural farming

Despite the push given to it through periodic pronouncements from India’s leaders, the country’s efforts to upscale non-chemical farming practices have largely remained half-hearted at best. Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) new report on the subject presents robust evidence which makes it clear that we can upscale organic and natural farming. It is time to invest adequately in a well-funded nation-wide programme for this”: said Sunita Narain, director general, CSE . She was releasing CSE’s report — Evidence (2004-20) on holistic benefits of organic and natural farming in India – at an online event today. The report had a ‘community’ release — representatives of the community which has been practicing or promoting organic and natural farming across the country joined in to release it along with Narain. The coming of the report immediately after the Budget is especially opportune. The Finance Minister has made a pitch for promoting chemical-free natural farming, and has encouraged states to revise the syllabi in their agricultural universities keeping in line with this new push. “But,” says Amit Khurana, programme director, Sustainable Food Systems programme, CSE and co-author of the CSE report, “these are relatively small steps compared to the need of the hour, and especially after the prime minister’s appeal in December to make natural farming a mass movement.” Khurana adds: “Hopefully, our new report, which highlights that there is strong long-term evidence that organic and natural farming is not only profitable and sustainable but also productive, will propel the country to invest more adequately to upscale and encourage such a mass movement.” What the report presents The report presents evidence collected and collated on aspects such as crop yield; cost of cultivation, income and livelihood, soil health and environment, and food quality and nutrients. It is based on two sets of sources: Results of the All-India Network Project on Organic Farming (AI-NPOF), 2004-19 — The project is currently being implemented across 20 centres in 16 states. The report compares results of three approaches — organic, integrated (which partly involves chemicals) and inorganic (dependent on chemicals). About 90 scientific studies on organic and natural farming published during 2010-20 in India – these collectively add to and complement the overall evidence. The report makes a clear case to consider the holistic benefits of organic and natural farming, such as those related to livelihoods, soil health and environment (instead of only yield) in future policies and programmes. Specifically, through the AI-NPOF results, it presents long-term evidence on how benefits of organic approach outweigh that of inorganic approach (and also integrated approach to a large extent), with respect to profitability parameters such as net returns and soil health parameters like organic carbon, macronutrients, micronutrients, bulk density and rhizosphere microbial population. The evidence collected by the report bring out some interesting details: Evidence on crop yield: Out of the 504 times that yield results were recorded during 2014-19, the yields were found to be highest 41 per cent of the times with organic approach, followed by 33 per cent with integrated, and 26 per cent with inorganic approach. Evidence on income and livelihoods: Out of 61 cropping systems, net returns have been seen to be the highest in 64 per cent with organic approach at 12 centres, 11 per cent with integrated approach at four centres, and 25 per cent with inorganic approach at five centres. The five-year mean net returns with organic approach are higher than inorganic in 67 per cent cropping systems. Evidence on soil health: Cropping systemswith organic approach have scored the highest in terms of all the parametres on soil health – organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The report’s findings on soil bulk density, soil bacteria, fungi, micronutrients etc also offer a similar verdict. “It is surprising how the results of the government’s own All India Network Project on organic farming, which has been present in the public domain for the last several years, did not get the required attention. It is also a concern how the entire issue so far has focused on yields and not on livelihoods and soil health benefits,” says Khurana. “It is evident that organic approach has fared better than integrated on profitability and sustainability and is almost at par with it in the case of productivity,” points out Abhay Kumar Singh, programme manager, Sustainable Food Systems Programme in CSE and a co-author of the report. Adds his co-author and the Programme’s deputy manager, Abdul Halim: “There is proof that natural farming involves low costs and helps in introducing resilient crops, energy and water efficiency, plant and animal biodiversity, carbon sequestration and climate mitigation.” The report recommends actions needed to upscale organic and natural farming – building a well-funded ambitious programme; training and supporting farmers during transition; making available quality organic fertilisers and biofertilisers; enabling agriculture extension systems; farmer-friendly certification; enabling market access; and action at the state level. Concluding the discussions at the release of the report, Narain said: “We now know that there are enough reasons to upscale organic and natural farming. We hope that the larger scientific community and policymakers recognise the strong case that we now have to transform the non-chemical farming initiatives in our country into a mass movement.” (Report sent by Pratyusha Mukherjee)

• Sustainable Food Systems

Invest in organic and natural farming, says CSE report

Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) new report ‘Evidence (2004-20) on holistic benefits of organic and natural farming in India: Evidence (2004-20)’ presents irrefutable evidence of the benefits of non-chemical agriculture. The country successfully adopted the Green Revolution in the 1960s—an input and chemical-intensive agriculture model—to overcome food scarcity by use of high yield varieties, pesticides, fertilizers, and agriculture machinery and irrigation systems. However, over the years, this resulted in several negative impacts related to ecological, economic and existential aspects of agriculture. This includes declining soil fertility and food diversity, an increase in farmers’ debt, dependence on agrochemicals, and pest resistance. In addition, chemical-intensive agriculture adversely affects the health of humans and animals. “Despite the push given to it through periodic pronouncements from India’s leaders, the country’s efforts to upscale non-chemical farming practices have largely remained half-hearted at best. on the subject presents robust evidence which makes it clear that we can upscale organic and natural farming. It is time to invest adequately in a well-funded nationwide programme for this,” said Sunita Narain, director general, CSE releasing the report at an online event on February 2, 2022. The ‘community’ release of the report wherein representatives of the communities that have been practising or promoting organic and natural farming across the country joined in during the event. “The coming of the report immediately after the budget is especially opportune. The Finance Minister has made a pitch for promoting chemical-free natural farming, and has encouraged states to revise the syllabi in their agricultural universities keeping in line with this new push,” said Amit Khurana, programme director, Sustainable Food Systems programme, CSE and co-author of the CSE report. The negative impacts of chemical agriculture have been deliberated upon extensively in the last few decades and even more so in the last few years. As a result, the agro-ecological movement has started gaining momentum. This includes efforts by champion farmers and civil societies. While the government passed its first policy on organic farming in 2005, subsequent action was minimal. In 2015–16, it came up with a flagship programme, called Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), which apart from being limited in scale, continues to face implementation challenges. All this while, barring a few exceptions, action at the state level has been suboptimal. This explains why only 2.7 per cent (3.8 million ha) of net sown area (140.1 million ha) in India is covered under organic and natural farming as part of different policies. This includes 0.41 million ha of natural farming. In a recent shift, the government has started talking publicly in favour of organic and natural farming. The Prime Minister, highlighting the ill-effects of chemical-based farming, recently appealed to make natural farming a mass movement in the country. “But, the budget mention is a relatively small step compared to the need of the hour, and especially after the prime minister's appeal in December to make natural farming a mass movement. Though the budget promises to promote chemical-free natural farming, it is a half-hearted promise at best, as no separate allocation has been made in it,” adds Khurana. Over the last two decades, the government’s action to upscale agro-ecological practices has been half-hearted and severely limited. One main reason is the lack of conviction among policy makers, which has prevented them from taking ambitious action to mainstream organic and natural farming. This has largely been due to the limited consensus among the scientific community in favour of organic and natural farming and the singular view of yield to assess these non-chemical agricultural practices. This has been attributed to limited evidence, which was building up over the last two decades but failed to catch the attention of policymakers. “Hopefully, the new report, which highlights that there is strong long-term evidence that organic and natural farming is not only profitable and sustainable but also productive, will propel the country to invest more adequately to upscale and encourage such a mass movement," adds Khurana. “It is surprising how the results of the government’s own All India Network Project on organic farming, which has been present in the public domain for the last several years, did not get the required attention. It is also a concern how the entire issue so far has focused on yields and not on livelihoods and soil health benefits,” said Khurana. “It is evident that organic approach has fared better than integrated on profitability and sustainability and is almost at par with it in the case of productivity,” points out Abhay Kumar Singh, programme manager, Sustainable Food Systems Programme in CSE and a co-author of the report. The report recommends actions needed to upscale organic and natural farming – building a well-funded ambitious programme; training and supporting farmers during transition; making available quality organic fertilisers and biofertilisers; enabling agriculture extension systems; farmer-friendly certification; enabling market access; and action at the state level. “There is proof that natural farming involves low costs and helps in introducing resilient crops, energy and water efficiency, plant and animal biodiversity, carbon sequestration and climate mitigation,” adds Abdul Halim, a co-author of the report and the Programme’s deputy manager. The report makes a case for holistic benefits of organic and natural farming This report consolidates and presents the evidence on holistic benefits of organic and natural farming such as on yield, livelihood, soil health and environment. This is done by analysing the results of the government’s own long-term research project from 2004 and other scientific studies over the last decade. The report presents evidence collected and collated on aspects such as crop yield; cost of cultivation, income and livelihood, soil health and environment, and food quality and nutrients. It is based on two sets of sources: Results of the All-India Network Project on Organic Farming (AI-NPOF), 2004-19 -- The project is currently being implemented across 20 centres in 16 states. The report compares result of three approaches -- organic, integrated (which partly involves chemicals) and inorganic (dependent on chemicals). About 90 scientific studies on organic and natural farming published during 2010-20 in India – these collectively add to and complement the overall evidence. Specifically, through the AI-NPOF results, it presents long-term evidence on how the benefits of organic approach outweigh that of inorganic approach (and also integrated approach to a large extent), with respect to profitability parameters such as net returns and soil health parameters like organic carbon, macronutrients, micronutrients, bulk density and rhizosphere microbial population. The evidence collected by the report bring out some interesting details: Evidence on crop yield: Out of the 504 times that yield results were recorded during 2014-19, the yields were found to be highest 41 per cent of the times with organic approach, followed by 33 per cent with integrated, and 26 per cent with inorganic approach. Evidence on income and livelihoods: Out of 61 cropping systems, net returns have been seen to be the highest in 64 per cent with organic approach at 12 centres, 11 per cent with integrated approach at four centres, and 25 per cent with inorganic approach at five centres. The five-year mean net returns with organic approach are higher than inorganic in 67 per cent cropping systems. Evidence on soil health: Cropping systems with organic approach have scored the highest in terms of all the parameters on soil health – organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The report’s findings on soil bulk density, soil bacteria, fungi, micronutrients etc. also offer a similar verdict. The study recommends the need to develop a roadmap that sets the long-term agenda for adoption of agro-ecological approaches across different parts of the country in view of its benefits on multiple and crosscutting aspects such as nutrition, livelihood of farmers, natural resource conservation, biodiversity, resource efficiency, soil health, disease resilience and mitigation of climate crisis. This roadmap should also consider mechanisms for incentivizing farmers to adopt agro-ecological practices such as payments for ecosystem services. It also suggests that organic certification process should be improved to make it farmer-friendly and low cost. Measures should be taken to address concerns about the PGS-India certification system and its implementation to make it more farmer-friendly. An alternative certification that is simpler for farmers and trustworthy for consumers could be explored for well-connected local markets. The problem could also be addressed by introducing traceability mechanisms. Implementing measures to increase the credibility and popularity of PGS certification among consumers is the need of the hour. Consumer trust will generate more demand. “We now know that there are enough reasons to upscale organic and natural farming. We hope that the larger scientific community and policymakers recognise the strong case that we now have to transform the non-chemical farming initiatives in our country into a mass movement,” said Narain concluding the discussions at the release of the report.

• Down To Earth

Homeless people die in large numbers as northern India suffers coldest January in a decade

Last week, when Delhi recorded the coldest day in almost a decade, a homeless man on the streets of the national capital slept through the night holding a dead body close to him until volunteers from a nonprofit arrived to help. Rajkumar, a daily wage labourer, has lived in Delhi for the last five years but is yet to get a roof over his head. He is one of the city’s official tally of 46,724 homeless people – a number activists say could be barely a third of the real figure for rough sleepers in the capital. Rajkumar sleeps near Delhi’s Kashmiri gate, a bustling area where interstate buses arrive every hour. The person next to him had lost his life during the night when temperatures dropped to a low of 6C. Daily maximum temperatures have dropped as low as 12 degrees below the average for a Delhi winter day, making it the coldest January in nine years. Volunteers from the nonprofit that helped Rajkumar had found him along with another man who needed medical attention after surviving a rainy night sleeping out a footpath. The third man, who Rajkumar had been holding onto for warmth, was not so lucky. According to an unreleased report from the Centre for Holistic Development (CHD), the nonprofit that comprises of “silent volunteers” including lawyers and policy researchers that helped Rajkumar, at least 176 homeless people died in January in Delhi because of exposure to extreme cold. A lack of official record-keeping of homeless deaths makes it difficult to find a comparison for last year, but according to the India Environment Portal (IEP) 152 deaths were recorded across India as a whole due to cold waves in 2020. CHD’s researchers analysed data from India’s homeless shelters and local records of deaths on footpaths, along with its own surveys, to determine the number of deaths recorded in January. And the figure of 176 deaths is only up to 30 January, the organisation says. According to Sunil Kumar Aledia, an experienced activist with the organisation, the number of deaths recorded for January could still go up in the coming days. “Sometimes dead bodies lie abandoned on the footpaths and we find out about the deaths several days later,” says Mr Aledia, who has been venturing out in Delhi’s chilly nights to help the homeless. “All three weathers – winter, summer and monsoon – always result in deaths of homeless people [in the city],” he says. “Homelessness is a disaster situation. We talk about malnutrition or hunger but you can’t act on those issues unless you tackle homelessness.” According to CHD, deaths have been rising in busy areas like north and east Delhi, where several small businesses are located and which witness an influx of people coming from other states in search of work. While one drive across the city is enough to see the increasing number of the city’s homeless – many of whom take refuge under bridges, in parks and footpaths – the government’s step towards preventing deaths among the homeless has been limited to setting up night shelters. A barefoot, homeless person huddles next to a bus stand during a chilly winter night (Sunil Kumar Aledia/Centre For Holistic Development) The Delhi government’s night shelter scheme has been highly publicised, but according to activists and people living on the roads, spaces are becoming harder to come by. And for those who get access to beds, the situation isn’t necessarily better than what they suffer on the roads. Delhi has 296 shelter homes with over 9,000 beds. The homes, however, work on a first-come, first-serve basis. The centres, often temporary settlements, lack basic facilities like toilets or medical care despite several promises made by authorities to provide these. The number of beds in shelters is not even half the government numbers reported in previous years, with lack of data being the biggest problem, activists say. And while the number of beds was already an issue, the Covid pandemic has made things worse. Shelter homes are forced to adopt social-distancing norms, allowing an even smaller number to be taken in during the night. Covid has also wreaked havoc on the unorganised sector – cash-in-hand workers – forcing many small businesses to lay off helpers. According to activists, a majority of the homeless population in the city comprises of people working in unorganised sectors as labourers and helpers or of those pushed to begging or selling items on the streets. “Most of these people work in the unorganised sector where they are paid by the day,” says Sanjay Kumar, an activist with the charity Aashray Adhikar Abhiyan who runs a homeless shelter in the city. “These workers have no other place to go than to spend the night in the open, and look for work again in the day.” He estimates the homeless population in the city to be around 100,000. “In my experience, one per cent of the city’s population is homeless,” he adds. Activists working with the homeless find a dead body lying near a footpath (Sunil Kumar Aledia/Centre For Holistic Development) India defines homelessness as those who do not live in census houses, while the United Nations Economic and Social Council has a broader definition for homelessness, including security of tenure, affordability, access to services and cultural adequacy. Activists have time and again raised concerns about the lack of data when it comes to the counting of the homeless population, something that is also in a state of flux because many workers move to cities only during a certain season. The government, however, is yet to carry out a detailed seasonal survey. “There should be a proper mechanism to take a survey during winter, summer and monsoon. This can easily be real-time data but the government is not willing to do it,” explains Mr Aledia. Those sleeping on the roads are not only suffering through cold weather, but also high air pollution. India’s air quality levels have remained poor in the month of January at above 200 while Delhi has borne the brunt of the country’s toxic air crisis for several winters now. India’s extreme weather conditions are also only likely to intensify in the coming years. According to climate experts, the unusual cold the country is witnessing this year goes beyond what would be expected from seasonal changes. The harsh winter conditions this year are partly a result of La Nina, an oceanic and atmospheric phenomenon that is the colder counterpart of El Nino and which drives temperatures downwards, according to Aarti Khosla, the director of Climate Trends, a climate communications initiative. “This was anyway supposed to be a year of La Nina. But given how throughout last year first we had the heat stress, then back to back cyclone and concentrated monsoon, the cooling was more than natural as well,” says Ms Khosla. “Definitely there is a climate impact on all of this,” she says, adding that while one event may not be entirely attributed to climate change, the severity of these instances is definitely related.

• Sustainable Food Systems

CSE release new report presenting irrefutable evidence of the benefits of non-chemical agriculture

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has stated that despite the push given to it, the country’s efforts to upscale non-chemical farming practices have largely remained half-hearted. Batting for natural farming, CSE released its new report; Evidence (2004-20) on holistic benefits of organic and natural farming in India, at an online event on Wednesday. There is robust evidence which makes it clear that we can upscale organic and natural farming. It is time to invest adequately in a well funded nation-wide programme for this”, said Sunita Narain, director general, CSE while releasing report with community members, who have been practicing or promoting organic and natural farming across the country. The finance minister has made a pitch for promoting chemical free natural farming and has encouraged states to revise the syllabi in their agricultural universities keeping in line with this new push. Says Amit Khurana, programme director, Sustainable Food Systems programme, CSE and co-author of the CSE report, "these are relatively small steps compared to the need of the hour, and especially after the prime minister's appeal in December to make natural farming a mass movement.” Khurana adds: “Hopefully, our new report, which highlights that there is strong long-term evidence that organic and natural farming is not only profitable and sustainable but also productive, will propel the country to invest more adequately to upscale and encourage such a mass movement." The report presents evidence collected and collated on aspects such as crop yield; cost of cultivation, income and livelihood, soil health and environment, and food quality and nutrients. It is based on two sets of sources; results of the All-India Network Project on Organic Farming (AI-NPOF), 2004-19 -- The project is currently being implemented across 20 centres in 16 states. The report compares results of three approaches -- organic, integrated (which partly involves chemicals) and inorganic (dependent on chemicals). About 90 scientific studies on organic and natural farming published during 2010-20 in India – these collectively add to and complement the overall evidence. The report makes a clear case to consider the holistic benefits of organic and natural farming, such as those related to livelihoods, soil health and environment (instead of only yield) in future policies and programmes. Specifically, through the AI-NPOF results, it presents long-term evidence on how benefits of organic approach outweigh that of inorganic approach (and also integrated approach to a large extent), with respect to profitability parameters such as net returns and soil health parameters like organic carbon, macronutrients, micronutrients, bulk density and rhizosphere microbial population. The evidence collected by the report bring out some interesting details: Evidence on crop yield: Out of the 504 times that yield results were recorded during 2014-19, the yields were found to be highest 41 per cent of the times with organic approach, followed by 33 per cent with integrated, and 26 per cent with inorganic approach. Evidence on income and livelihoods: Out of 61 cropping systems, net returns have been seen to be the highest in 64 per cent with organic approach at 12 centres, 11 per cent with integrated approach at four centres, and 25 per cent with inorganic approach at five centres. The five-year mean net returns with organic approach are higher than inorganic in 67 per cent cropping systems. Evidence on soil health: Cropping systems with organic approach have scored the highest in terms of all the parameters on soil health – organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The report’s findings on soil bulk density, soil bacteria, fungi, micronutrients etc also offer a similar verdict. “It is surprising how the results of the government’s own All India Network Project on organic farming, which has been present in the public domain for the last several years, did not get the required attention. It is also a concern how the entire issue so far has focused on yields and not on livelihoods and soil health benefits,” says Khurana. “It is evident that organic approach has fared better than integrated on profitability and sustainability and is almost at par with it in the case of productivity,” points out Abhay Kumar Singh, programme manager, Sustainable Food Systems Programme in CSE and a co-author of the report. Adds his co-author and the Programme’s deputy manager, Abdul Halim: “There is proof that natural farming involves low costs and helps in introducing resilient crops, energy and water efficiency, plant and animal biodiversity, carbon sequestration and climate mitigation.” The report recommends actions needed to upscale organic and natural farming – building a well-funded ambitious programme; training and supporting farmers during transition; making available quality organic fertilisers and bio fertilisers; enabling agriculture extension systems; farmer-friendly certification; enabling market access; and action at the state level. Narain said: “We now know that there are enough reasons to upscale organic and natural farming. We hope that the larger scientific community and policymakers recognise the strong case that we now have to transform the non-chemical farming initiatives in our country into a mass movement.”

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

A Sustainable, Pollution-Free Delhi? Yes It’s Possible!

When we talk about Delhi’s future, the first thing that comes to our mind is a city that is noisy, dirty, cramped, crowded and engulfed in toxic smog, isn’t it? But the city could be brighter, cleaner and pollution-free too and there’s a cool AR installation that shows you how. Starting with Delhi, with the aim to get its citizens to envision what the future of the city would look like, Jhatkaa.org launched the #FutureDelhi campaign recently. At the heart of the campaign was an Augmented Reality Installation placed on the street that transported the audience to a mixed reality future. The display showed a view of the same location, but with an added augmented reality layer that showcases what a sustainable version of the location could look like in the future, with more pedestrian space, cycle lanes, electric buses, charging points of electric vehicles, free of emissions from fossil-fuel vehicles and with clean blue skies. The installation was like a giant selfie phone camera in which people could see themselves but immersed in #FutureDelhi. In the campaign that ran for a week, events were organised to gather livelihood, cyclists, bus commuters and e-rickshaw drivers to hear their thoughts on sustainable mobility and the problems they face. Speaking about the problems they face, E-Rickshaw owner Lokinder Singh Taksab (57) said, “Like there are CNG and fuel stations everywhere, it would be great if we could have E-charging stations as well. It gets difficult for us to come back home and charge our rickshaws.” “With more working members in the family, the aspiration to have more cars increases. In the future, there should be a check on that otherwise, there would be no end to traffic jams in Delhi,” said Babli Marshal, a resident of Delhi for the last 30 years. Triloki Nath Mishra (90) said, “I have been living in this city since 1942, and it pains to see it wrapped up in toxic air. We used to cycle 10–15 kms a day, but today people use cars and bikes even for 500 metres. I want the future to be like how the past was; cleaner.” An analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) shows that vehicular emissions contribute 50–53% of total air pollution in Delhi. The idea of the campaign was to bring policymakers and citizens together to start a conversation on the city, sustainability, innovation and action. One of the iconic figures from history, Delhi’s favourite poet Mirza Ghalib asked Delhiites their thoughts on the future of the city. Here’s how that went.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Delhi records cleanest January since AQI measuring system launch

Delhi recorded its cleanest January in 2022 since the CPCB started measuring the AQI. This was mainly due to excess rainfall, fewer foggy days, and seven western disturbances. New Delhi: Delhi recorded its cleanest January in 2022 since the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) started measuring the Air Quality Index (AQI) in 2015. This was mainly due to excess rainfall, fewer foggy days, and seven western disturbances. According to a report published in The Times Of India, Delhi recorded two ‘satisfactory’ days and one ‘severe’ day, in January. January 2022 also recorded three ‘moderate’ days. The month’s average AQI was 279, compared to 324 the previous year. January 2022 was the wettest January in 121 years due to intense rain activity. According to experts, a strong western disturbance affected the region causing rain, rise in temperature, and wind speed, which helped in improving air quality. Gufran Beig, founder project director, SAFAR said that huge quantities of air particles are carried from the fog which comes from Indo-Gangetic plains. The fog formation causes calm conditions by trapping pollutants and also affects the boundary layer height. January 2022 recorded 26 days when the air quality ranged between ‘poor’ to ‘severe’ category, compared to 29 days in January 2021, 2019, and 2017. 28 in January 2020 and 31 days in 2018 and 2016. Dipankar Saha, former head of CPCB’s air laboratory said that compared to last year, there has been a significant decrease in the ‘severe’ and ‘very poor’ days. Intermittent rain, higher wind speed, and no severe foggy days were the reason for it. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, Centre for Science and Environment told TOI that as the winter is coming to an end, action for sustained change must gather momentum. She further added that there has been a rapid increase in daily PM 2.5 levels since January 28. The improved monthly average was due to record rainfall and an extended cold spell as well as more unique winter conditions.

• Climate Change and Green Economy

Budget 2022: क्या यूपी के किसानों के लिए गेमचेंजर साबित होगी गंगा कॉरिडोर में ऑर्गेनिक खेती

देश में नमामि गंगे योजना के तहत गंगा किनारों के 5 किलोमीटर दायरे में 2016 से ही योजना चलाई जा रही है. मीडिया रिपोर्ट्स के अनुसार यूपी और बिहार के कई गांवों की तस्वीर बदल गई है. अब अगर ये योजना पूरी तरह लागू की जाएगी तो इस पिछड़े एरिया की तस्वीर बदल सकती है. केंद्रीय वित्‍त मंत्री निर्मला सीतारमण (Nirmala Sitharaman) ने अपने चौथे बजट (Budget) में किसानों के लिए कई बड़े ऐलान किए हैं. कहा जा रहा है कि केंद्रीय कृषि कानूनों को लेकर एक साल तक चले आंदोलन की वजह से किसानों की नाराजगी को दूर करने का प्रयास बजट में किया गया है. बजट में अगले वित्त वर्ष में किसानों के खाते में 2.37 लाख करोड़ रुपए डीबीटी के माध्यम से देने की बात की गई है. पर गंगा (Ganga) किनारों के 5 किलोमीटर एरिया में ऑर्गेनिक खेती का गलियारा बनाने की बात करके यूपी की करीब 150 सीटों पर माइलेज लेने की कोशिश की है. हालांकि यह योजना 2016 से राष्ट्रीय गंगा मिशन के तहत चल रही है और बहुत से किसानों को इसका लाभ भी मिला है. अभी तक नमामि गंगे योजना के तहत जैविक खेती के लिए किसान को 36 हज़ार रुपये प्रति हेक्टेयर की दर से अनुदान मिल रहा है. इसके अलावा पहले जैविक खेती करने वाले किसानों को पंजीकरण कराने के लिए 20 हजार रुपये शुल्क देना होता था लेकिन अब शासन ने यह शुल्क भी खत्म कर दिया है. तीन वर्ष तक जैविक खेती करने वाले किसानों का कृषि विभाग से निशुल्क पंजीकरण कर रहा है. जाहिर है कि जब केंद्र सरकार इसमें इंट्रेस्ट ले रही है तो मार्केटिंग, डीबीटी, एमएसपी, आसान कर्ज, सब्सिडी आदि की व्यवस्था और बढ़ सकती है. 1760 हेक्टेयर में होने वाली जैविक खेती का रकबा दिन प्रतिदिन बढ़ रहा है दैनिक जागरण में पिछले साल एक छपी खबर बताती है कि उन्नाव जिले के 64 गांवों में जैविक खेती ने कैसे किसानों और गांवों की तस्वीर बदल दी है. यहां करीब 1760 हेक्टेयर में होने वाली जैविक खेती का रकबा दिन प्रतिदिन बढ़ रहा है. जैविक खाद और बीजों से खेत में जीवांश कार्बन की मात्रा बढ़ रही है. 20 साल पहले जिले में खेतों का जीवांश कार्बन 1.3 फीसद था तो जो सन 2017 में 0.2 फीसद रह गया.इसे 0.8 फीसद के स्तर तक ले जाने का लक्ष्य है. जमीन ऊसर हो रही थी जिससे किसानों के लिए खेती मुश्किल होती जा रही थी. गोबर, गुड़, बेसन और डीकंपोजर लिक्विड के उपयोग से यहां की खेती की तस्वीर बदलनी शुरू हो गई है. खबर के अनुसार यहां खेतों में गोबर, गुड़, गोमूत्र, बेसन से बनी खाद का ही उपयोग हो रहा है. सिकंदरपुर सिरोसी, गंगाघाट, पाटन, बीघापुर, परियर, बांगरमऊ, गंजमुरादाबाद में जैविक खेती की जा रही है. इसमें सबसे अधिक 32 गांव सिकंदरपुर सिरोसी के हैं. जहां फसल की पैदावार सामान्य से अधिक हो रही है. खासकर मूंगफली, केला, काला गेहूं की फसल किसान कर रहे हैं. गंगा के किनारे की खेती अति उपजाऊ रही है प्रयागराज में जैविक खेती कर रहे मेड़ई कल्याणी सेवा ट्रस्ट के निदेशक राजेंद्र सिंह जी कहते हैं कि यह फैसला उत्तर प्रदेश और बिहार के किसानों के लिए गेमचेंजर साबित हो सकता है. देश के इस हिस्से में विशेषकर गंगा के किनारे की खेती अति उपजाऊ रही है पर यहां का किसान अति गरीब रहा है. उर्वरकों वाली खेती बहुत खर्चीली रही है और छोटी जोत के किसान के पास इतने संसाधन नहीं थे. जोत घटती गई और गंगा किनारे का किसान दिन प्रति दिन गरीब होता गया. राजेंद्र सिंह कहते हैं कि जिस तरह काले गेहूं और जैविक खाद्यों की डिमांड बढ़ रही है अगर सरकार की सहायता मिल गई तो गरीब किसानों की जिंदगी में बहार आ जाएगी. भारत में 2005 में जैविक कृषि नीति की शुरुआत हुई हालांकि देश में फसल बोने का इलाका केवल 2 प्रतिशत यानी 194 करोड़ हेक्टेयर और जैविक खेती के तहत 27.8 लाख हेक्टेयर है. भले ही भारत में जैविक खेती के लिए जमीन कम है लेकिन जैविक किसानों की संख्या के मामले में भारत पहले स्थान पर है. मार्च 2020 तक भारत में जैविक खेती करने वाले 19 लाख से अधिक किसान थे. इसलिए भारत में फसलों को व्यवस्थित रूप से उगाने की बहुत संभावना है. सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट में जलवायु परिवर्तन विशेषज्ञ शाजनीन साइरस गजदार ने डीडब्ल्यू हिंदी को दिए अपने एक साक्षात्कार मे बताया था कि “जलवायु परिवर्तन के संदर्भ में, जैविक खेती मिट्टी की जैव विविधता और पानी की गुणवत्ता को बनाए रखती है. पारंपरिक कृषि ग्रीनहाउस गैसों के उत्सर्जन में योगदान देने वाला प्रमुख कारक है और भारत को उत्सर्जन को कम करने के प्रयासों में शामिल होना चाहिए.” किसानों को मदद देना होगा जलवायु परिवर्तन एक्सपर्ट शाजनीन साइरस गजदार एक जर्मन न्यूज वेबसाइट को दिए अपने साक्षात्कार में कहती हैं, “ऑर्गेनिक खेती के लिए जरूरी संसाधन चाहिए. फसल की बेहतर ग्रेडिंग, छंटाई, पैकेजिंग और विपणन के लिए लघु उद्योग स्थापित करने के लिए सब्सिडी की व्यवस्था होनी चाहिए. अकार्बनिक से कार्बनिक खेती के बदलाव के दौरान कम उपज और फसल के नुकसान के लिए किसानों को मुआवजा देना होगा और जैविक खाद बनाने के लिए मदद देनी होगी. किसानों को मार्केट के बारे में भी सीखना होगा. राज्य के कृषि विभागों को विक्रय केंद्रों के संग्रह और ट्रांसपोर्ट में मदद करने की जिम्मेदारी भी संभालनी होगी.”

• Climate Change and Green Economy

गंगा किनारे जैविक गलियारा बनाने का प्रयास

गंगा नदी के किनारे जैविक गलियारा बनाना मैदानी इलाके के कायाकल्प का मौका है. गंगा में प्रदूषण न बढ़े इसके लिए पांच राज्य सरकारों के प्रयासों से जैविक गलियारा बनाने का प्रस्ताव है. लेकिन कई चुनौतियां भी हैं. भारत ने 2005 में जैविक कृषि नीति की शुरुआत की, हालांकि देश में फसल बोने का इलाका केवल 2 प्रतिशत यानी 194 करोड़ हेक्टेयर और जैविक खेती के तहत 27.8 लाख हेक्टेयर है. भले ही भारत में जैविक खेती के लिए जमीन कम है लेकिन जैविक किसानों की संख्या के मामले में भारत पहले स्थान पर है. मार्च 2020 तक भारत में जैविक खेती करने वाले 19 लाख से अधिक किसान थे. इसलिए भारत में फसलों को व्यवस्थित रूप से उगाने की बहुत संभावना है. सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट में जलवायु परिवर्तन विशेषज्ञ शाजनीन साइरस गजदार ने डीडब्ल्यू हिंदी को बताया, "जलवायु परिवर्तन के संदर्भ में, जैविक खेती मिट्टी की जैव विविधता और पानी की गुणवत्ता को बनाए रखती है. पारंपरिक कृषि ग्रीनहाउस गैसों के उत्सर्जन में योगदान देने वाला प्रमुख कारक है और भारत को उत्सर्जन को कम करने के प्रयासों में शामिल होना चाहिए." जैविक खेती के गलियारे बिहार में जैविक खेती के कई सारे गलियारे हैं जिनमें लगभग 20,000 एकड़ जमीन पर 22,000 से अधिक किसान जैविक खेती में लगे हुए हैं. राजधानी पटना में सड़क पर सब्जियां बेचने वाले विक्रेताओं के पास भी ताजा जैविक उत्पाद उपलब्ध हैं. यह सफल जमीनी अनुभव है. अब केंद्र सरकार चाहती है कि विषैले कीटनाशकों से गंगा में बढ़ रहे प्रदूषण का बेहतर तरीके से मुकाबला किया जाए. इस संदर्भ में, 2016 में गठित राष्ट्रीय गंगा परिषद, जिसमें गंगा नदी के किनारे बसे राज्यों उत्तराखंड, बिहार, उत्तर प्रदेश, झारखंड और पश्चिम बंगाल के मुख्यमंत्रियों के अलावा प्रधानमंत्री भी शामिल हैं, इन पांच राज्यों में गंगा तट के दोनों ओर 5 किमी के इलाके में जैविक समूहों को बढ़ावा दे रहे हैं. यह प्रस्ताव गंगा के मैदानी इलाके में खेती के टिकाऊ तरीके को बढ़ावा देने के लिए बने एजेंडे का हिस्सा है. लेकिन यह क्षेत्र चुनौतियों से भरा है. किसानों की मदद जरूरी जलवायु परिवर्तन विशेषज्ञ शाजनीन साइरस गजदार कहती हैं, "जैविक खेती के लिए जरूरी संसाधन चाहिए. फसल की बेहतर ग्रेडिंग, छंटाई, पैकेजिंग और विपणन के लिए लघु उद्योग स्थापित करने के लिए सब्सिडी की व्यवस्था होनी चाहिए.अकार्बनिक से कार्बनिक खेती के बदलाव के दौरान कम उपज और फसल के नुकसान के लिए किसानों को मुआवजा देना होगा और जैविक खाद बनाने के लिए मदद देनी होगी. किसानों को बाजारों के बारे में भी प्रशिक्षण लेना होगा. राज्य के कृषि विभागों को विक्रय केंद्रों के संग्रह और परिवहन में मदद करने की जिम्मेदारी भी लेनी होगी." उत्तर प्रदेश में गंगा नदी के कानपुर पहुंचने तक नदी के प्राकृतिक प्रवाह का 90% हिस्सा निकल जाता है. गंगा का अधिकांश प्रवाह मुख्य रूप से जल विद्युत उत्पादन और सिंचाई के लिए मोड़ दिया गया है. अगर गंगा बेसिन में जैविक खेती के गलियारे बनेंगे तो गंगा की स्वच्छता और निर्मलता फिर से बहाल हो पाएगी. इंडियन काउंसिल फॉर एग्रीकल्चरल रिसर्च द्वारा जारी एक रिपोर्ट के अनुसार, भारत हर साल लगभग 35 करोड़ टन कृषि अपशिष्ट उत्पन्न करता है. नवीन और नवीकरणीय ऊर्जा मंत्रालय के अनुसार, यह कचरा कृषि में उपयोग के लिए हरित उर्वरक पैदा करने के अलावा हर साल 18,000 मेगावाट से अधिक बिजली पैदा कर सकता है. सिक्किम का उदाहरण 2016 में, सिक्किम ने खुद को पूरी तरह से जैविक घोषित किया और वह ऐसा करने वाला भारत में पहला और एकमात्र राज्य बना. गैर-सरकारी संगठन वेल्टहुंगरहिल्फे भारत के फिलिप ड्रेसरुसे ने रिपोर्ट किया कि सिक्किम का 100 प्रतिशत जैविक राज्य बनने की प्रक्रिया आसान नहीं थी. पहले कुछ वर्षों में, कई फसलें विफल हुईं और कृषि उत्पादन में भारी कमी आई. मिट्टी में डाले जाने वाले रासायनिक तत्वों को अचानक हटा दिया गया और मिट्टी को अपनी प्राकृतिक उर्वरता हासिल करने में कई साल लग गए. हालांकि, राज्य सरकार के समर्थन से सिक्किम स्टेट ऑर्गेनिक बोर्ड बनाया गया, जिसने राज्य पूरी तरह से जैविक बनाने के लिए कई नीतिगत उपाय लागू किए. आज सिक्किम के 66,000 से अधिक किसानों को इसका लाभ पहुंचा है. इससे न केवल उनकी आय बढ़ी है, बल्कि राज्य की पूरी आबादी की जीवन प्रत्याशा भी बढ़ गई है. 2016 तक सिक्किम के लोगों की जीवनदर 1990 की तुलना में दस साल ज्यादा हो गई.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Weather elements help Delhi see cleanest January since AQI launch...

NEW DELHI: The capital saw its cleanest January this year since the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) started measuring the Air Quality Index (AQI) from April 2015 onwards, mainly owing to excess rainfall, fewer foggy days and seven western disturbances. The month’s average AQI stood at 279 against 324 in 2021. This January witnessed two rare ‘satisfactory’ days and one ‘severe’ day. Track the pollution level in your city Experts said when a strong western disturbance affects the region, it causes rain, rise in temperature and wind speed and helps in improving air quality. Rain activity was intense, making January 2022 the wettest in 121 years. Fog, which comes from Indo-Gangetic plains, carries a huge quantity of air particles. Fog formation also affects the boundary layer height and causes calm conditions by trapping pollutants,” said Gufran Beig, founder project director, SAFAR. CPCB data shows that two ‘satisfactory’ air quality days were recorded this January. In contrast, no such day was seen in January in the previous years. At three, this January also saw the highest number of ‘moderate’ days. According to CPCB, 26 out of 31 days this month had air quality in the range of ‘poor’ to ‘severe’ (AQI above 201). In comparison, there were 29 such days each in January 2021, 2019 and 2017; 31 each in 2016 and 2018; and 28 in 2020. “This January, there has been a significant decrease in the ‘severe’ and ‘very poor’ days compared to last year. This is because of intermittent rain, higher wind speeds to the tune of average 5m/sec and reduced and no severe foggy days,” said Dipankar Saha, former head of CPCB’s air laboratory, who analysed the past few years’ AQI for January. Pointing out that winter was about to end, Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, Centre for Science and Environment, said “action for sustained change” must gather momentum. “Daily average levels of PM2.5 are bouncing back again. There has been rapid increase since January 28. The improved monthly average level of pollution this month seems to be the result of record rainfall and a cold spell for an extended period as well as more unique winter conditions. The impact of changing climate on air quality patterns will have to be understood better for interventions,” she said. Delhi had last year recorded its cleanest October and dirtiest November.

• Sustainable Mobility

Future of public transport in India – Electric Buses

Given that the ratio of cars per thousand individuals is far less in India than in developed countries like the USA, UK and Australia, the dependence of majority of the population on public transport will continue. The need to reduce the dependence on imported oil, and the growing concerns over climate change have been the key drivers to the growth of electric vehicles (EVs) throughout the world. To keep pace with the global economy, various policy initiatives have been introduced by the Indian government since 2007 to give an impetus to the high-potential EV industry. Further, the government’s goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 as committed during the recently held COP26 summit, further presses the need to focus on EVs as the ‘future of mobility’. Given that the ratio of cars per thousand individuals is far less in India than in developed countries like the USA, UK and Australia, the dependence of majority of the population on public transport will continue. Hence, in order for India to reduce its carbon emissions, focus has to be on the mass scale electrification of public transport, in which e-buses will play a crucial role. In view of the various policy initiatives and the rising EV revolution, while a great response has already been shown by the existing Indian market players in the 2 & 3 wheelers segments (which require relatively less capex); the existing commercial vehicle players have either entered or are in the process of entering the EV space. As per a report, in the year 2020 around 5,15,600 EVs were sold in India, which included only 600 e-buses(1). Further, according to a report issued by SMEV, around 2,36,802 EVs were sold in India in FY20-21, and as per market sources e-buses accounted for only a small portion of the cumulative EV sales(2). In respect of the market players, until the FY20-21, about 74% of the total e-bus supply orders in India were catered by relatively new market players(3). The e-bus reforms in the country have been largely driven by incentives offered by the government, and few of the key initiatives contributing to the growth of e-bus industry are: (i) FAME II, with an outlay of INR 10,000 crores, is aimed providing upfront subsidies and creating EV charging infrastructure. This scheme proposes to support 7,090 e-buses with an incentive of up to INR 50 lakhs each. Bids to procure 5,580 e-buses have recently been sought by CESL under the ‘Grand Challenge’ as part of FAME II. (ii) National Programme on ACC, with an outlay of INR 18,100 crore, is aimed at incentivizing setting up of manufacturing facilities for 50 GWh of ACC and 5 GWh of niche ACC technologies. (iii) PLI scheme for automobile and auto components, with an outlay of INR 25,938 crore, is aimed at incentivising manufacturing of high technology automobiles and automotive components in India. In addition to the above, several initiatives have been introduced like reduction of GST on EVs, introduction of vehicle scrappage policy, de-licensing of public charging stations, etc. Despite the aforesaid the Indian e-bus revolution has not grown to the targeted levels, and is facing its own set of challenges, some of which are as under: (i) Dependency on imports: While chassis and bus bodies of the e-buses are being manufactured locally, the e-bus industry is still largely dependent on imports from select players for a variety of EV components and batteries. (ii) Uncertainty of battery life, and environmental concerns: There are uncertainties with regard to the limited life of the batteries of e-buses (which is estimated to be approx. 5 years), as the same is yet to be tested. Further, various bodies have also raised environmental concerns regarding the disposal of the batteries used in EVs. (iii) Lack of infrastructure: In order for the entire country to switch to e-buses, major infrastructure updation including charging stations are required to be created, for which huge capital investment is required. As against target requirement of 4,00,000 charging stations for 2 million EVs by 2026, there had been only 1,800 charging stations in India until March 20214. Lastly, as both the government and public are becoming more aware about the much needed switch to e-mobility, it is equally important to understand that the presence of e-buses will only be felt when an entire eco-system is developed for such buses, the role of government departments is streamlined so as to ensure an adequate demand-supply equilibrium, fiscal benefits and incentives are continued to be provided, and R&D on more efficient and cost effective technologies is encouraged. It would be interesting to examine whether the upcoming Union Budget will be able to deliver to the expectations of the industry.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Delhi Weather: जानिए इस बार जनवरी महीने में क्यों दिल्ली में हवा पिछले सालों के मुकाबले रही साफ?

सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट की डायरेक्टर अनुमिता रॉयचौधरी ने कहा, सर्दिय खतम होने वाली हैं. लेकिन 28 जनवरी के बाद से PM2.5 के औसत स्तर में इजाफा हो रहा है. केंद्रीय प्रदूषण नियंत्रण बोर्ड (CPCB) ने अप्रैल 2015 से दिल्ली की वायु गुणवत्ता सूचकांक (AQI) मापना शुरू किया है, जब से राष्ट्रीय राजधानी दिल्ली में इस बार जनवरी का महीना मौसम के हिसाब से सबसे साफ़ दर्ज किया गया. इस बार दिल्ली में मुख्य रूप से अधिक बारिश, कम कोहरा वाले दिन और इस महीने में आये सात पश्चिमी विक्षोभों को आधार बनाया गया. इस साल जनवरी 2022 में शहर का औसत वायु गुणवत्ता सूचकांक 279 रहा है, वहीं पिछले साल जनवरी 2021 महीने का औसत वायु गुणवत्ता सूचकांक 324 दर्ज किया गया था. मौसम विभाग के विशषज्ञों ने इस नए साल के जनवरी महीने में, औसत वायु गुणवत्ता सूचकांक पिछले सालों के मुकाबले साफ़ होने के कारणों को बताते हुए कहा कि, जब एक मजबूत पश्चिमी विक्षोभ किसी क्षेत्र को प्रभावित करता है तो इससे बारिश, तापमान और हवा की गति में वृद्धि का कारण बनता है. इससे हवा की गुणवत्ता में सुधार होता है. उन्होंने आगे बतया कि, इस बार शहर में बारिश पिछले 121 साल में जनवरी 2022 में सबसे अधिक दर्ज की गई. सीपीसीबी के जरिये जारी आंकड़ों के मुताबिक, इस साल जनवरी में दो दिन हवा की गुणवत्ता संतोषजनक श्रेणी में दर्ज किया गया. जबकि इस साल के मुकाबले पिछले साल जनवरी में आदर्श वायु गुणवत्ता का कोई दिन नहीं देखा गया था. वहीं इसी साल जनवरी में मौसम वायु गुणवत्ता "मध्यम श्रेणी" की दर्ज की गई. जनवरी 2022 में, 31 दिनों में से 26 दिनों में हवा की गुणवत्ता "खराब" से "गंभीर" ( AQI 201 से ऊपर) श्रेणी में दर्ज किया गया. इसकी तुलना में, जनवरी 2021, 2019 और 2017 में इस तरह हवा की गुणवत्ता 29 दिन थे, वहीं 2016 और 2018 में 31 दिन, जबकि जनवरी 2020 में इस तरह के 28 दिन दर्ज किये गए थे. टाइम्स ऑफ़ इंडिया में छपी खबर के मुताबिक, सीपीसीबी की एयर लेबोरेटरी के पूर्व प्रमुख दीपंकर साह ने बताया, "इस साल जनवरी में वायु गुणवत्ता सूचकांक पिछले साल की तुलना में बहुत कम "गंभीर" और "बहुत खराब" श्रेणी में दर्ज की गई है. वहीं इस बार रुक रुक कर होने वाली बारिश, हवा की औसत गति 5 मीटर/ सेकंड रही है, साथ ही कम गंभीर कोहरे वाले दिनों के कारण यह महीना बेहतर रहा है. सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट की डायरेक्टर अनुमिता रॉयचौधरी ने कहा, सर्दिय खतम होने वाली हैं. लेकिन 28 जनवरी के बाद से PM2.5 के औसत स्तर में इजाफा हो रहा है. उन्होंने आगे कहा कि, इस महीने प्रदूषण के बेहतर मासिक औसत स्तर के लिए रिकॉर्ड बारिश और विशेष ठंडक वाले दिनों के कारण रहा है. हवा की गुणवत्ता के पैटर्न पर बदलते जलवायु के प्रभाव के हस्तक्षेपों को समझना होगा." हम आपको बता दें दिल्ली ने साल 2021 में सबसे साफ़ वायु गुणवत्ता अक्टूबर महीने में दर्ज की गई और सबसे खराब श्रेणी नवंबर में दर्ज किया.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

To tackle air pollution, devise concrete, measurable time-bound targets

Economic incentives tied to pollution-based targets would allow for both an efficient allocation of NCAP funds for cities where there are active air quality policy implementations and would also additionally incentivise states to reach such targets in a time-bound manner We don’t need any more studies to underline the importance of clean air for a healthy population or to show that there is a positive correlation between polluted air and negative GDP growth. Recent studies in the United States have also linked high Covid-19 mortality rates to areas where population was exposed to higher particulate matter. India which has the dubious distinction of having 21 out of 30 most polluted cities in the world, we are still not serious about solving air crisis. The National Clean Air Program (NCAP), the only centrally funded scheme that deals with air pollution, is badly formulated and grossly underfunded. After much delay, disbursement of funds started in November 2020. 231 cities with poor air quality, including Delhi, were left out and some of the smaller cities such as Shillong received ₹20 lakh, which is not even enough to buy one air quality monitor. The war against pollution will need be led by the central government because air pollution does not recognise administrative boundaries. Take the case of Delhi. A recent study by the Centre for Science and Environment highlighted that Delhi’s internal contribution to pollution is 31% to the existing PM2.5 levels, the rest originated from the National Capital Region and surrounding areas. Every time Delhi takes stringent measures such as shutting polluting industries and power plants, higher tax for diesel vehicles, the city government loses revenue. However, the air does not get any cleaner because the industries move to neighbouring cities/states and continue to pollute Delhi’s airshed. With Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Faridabad featuring among the most polluted cities of India, the inaction by governments of NCR districts and Commission for Air Quality Management’s (CAQM) inefficiency in ensuring that states are bound to specific time-bound targets, has nullified Delhi government’s efforts in addressing air quality levels in Delhi and providing its citizens with a better measure of life. Similarly, although industrial pollution within Delhi has gone down from 16% in 2016 to 2.5% in 2019 as a result of measures taken by the Delhi government to either shut down or encourage adoption of cleaner fuels, just a few kilometers from Delhi’s border, industrial clusters in Faridabad, Narela, Sahibabad consisting of most polluting smelters, and tanneries continue to operate with limited regulations resulting in toxic emissions. A regional approach where states only look at air quality within their administrative boundaries is bound to fail, while adopting an airshed approach will go a long way in helping improve air quality levels for the NCR region. We need to take a regional airshed approach, further elaborating the NCR example - a body like CAQM would need to formulate a 10-year plan for the NCR area. This plan should have specific annual targets for each of the cities in the airshed. For example, if Delhi were to reduce its particulate matter by XX micro grams in a year, then Delhi would get additional funds of XX crore. At the same time, if Delhi misses the target, then Delhi would be penalized by XX crore. Unless we have concrete, measurable time-bound targets, we will continue to ruin the lungs of our children. The much-acclaimed China model for pollution mitigation was successful due to region-wise emission-reduction targets evolved for its most polluted regions, where each city was given long and short-term targets to reduce particulate matter concentrations, with best performing cities rewarded with additional budgetary allocations. This is no different than the concept of social bonds as a financial tool that is being used world over to address or mitigate a specific social issue and seek to achieve positive social outcomes. Economic incentives tied to pollution-based targets would allow for both an efficient allocation of NCAP funds for cities where there are active air quality policy implementations and would also additionally incentivise states to reach such targets in a time-bound manner. We should give up our dream of double digit GDP growth or of becoming a superpower if a large percentage of our future generations are growing up in areas with toxic air.

• Sustainable Mobility

Future of public transport in India – Electric Buses

Given that the ratio of cars per thousand individuals is far less in India than in developed countries like the USA, UK and Australia, the dependence of majority of the population on public transport will continue. The need to reduce the dependence on imported oil, and the growing concerns over climate change have been the key drivers to the growth of electric vehicles (EVs) throughout the world. To keep pace with the global economy, various policy initiatives have been introduced by the Indian government since 2007 to give an impetus to the high-potential EV industry. Further, the government’s goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 as committed during the recently held COP26 summit, further presses the need to focus on EVs as the ‘future of mobility’. Given that the ratio of cars per thousand individuals is far less in India than in developed countries like the USA, UK and Australia, the dependence of majority of the population on public transport will continue. Hence, in order for India to reduce its carbon emissions, focus has to be on the mass scale electrification of public transport, in which e-buses will play a crucial role. In view of the various policy initiatives and the rising EV revolution, while a great response has already been shown by the existing Indian market players in the 2 & 3 wheelers segments (which require relatively less capex); the existing commercial vehicle players have either entered or are in the process of entering the EV space. As per a report, in the year 2020 around 5,15,600 EVs were sold in India, which included only 600 e-buses(1). Further, according to a report issued by SMEV, around 2,36,802 EVs were sold in India in FY20-21, and as per market sources e-buses accounted for only a small portion of the cumulative EV sales(2). In respect of the market players, until the FY20-21, about 74% of the total e-bus supply orders in India were catered by relatively new market players(3). The e-bus reforms in the country have been largely driven by incentives offered by the government, and few of the key initiatives contributing to the growth of e-bus industry are: (i) FAME II, with an outlay of INR 10,000 crores, is aimed providing upfront subsidies and creating EV charging infrastructure. This scheme proposes to support 7,090 e-buses with an incentive of up to INR 50 lakhs each. Bids to procure 5,580 e-buses have recently been sought by CESL under the ‘Grand Challenge’ as part of FAME II. (ii) National Programme on ACC, with an outlay of INR 18,100 crore, is aimed at incentivizing setting up of manufacturing facilities for 50 GWh of ACC and 5 GWh of niche ACC technologies. (iii) PLI scheme for automobile and auto components, with an outlay of INR 25,938 crore, is aimed at incentivising manufacturing of high technology automobiles and automotive components in India. In addition to the above, several initiatives have been introduced like reduction of GST on EVs, introduction of vehicle scrappage policy, de-licensing of public charging stations, etc. Despite the aforesaid the Indian e-bus revolution has not grown to the targeted levels, and is facing its own set of challenges, some of which are as under: (i) Dependency on imports: While chassis and bus bodies of the e-buses are being manufactured locally, the e-bus industry is still largely dependent on imports from select players for a variety of EV components and batteries. (ii) Uncertainty of battery life, and environmental concerns: There are uncertainties with regard to the limited life of the batteries of e-buses (which is estimated to be approx. 5 years), as the same is yet to be tested. Further, various bodies have also raised environmental concerns regarding the disposal of the batteries used in EVs. (iii) Lack of infrastructure: In order for the entire country to switch to e-buses, major infrastructure updation including charging stations are required to be created, for which huge capital investment is required. As against target requirement of 4,00,000 charging stations for 2 million EVs by 2026, there had been only 1,800 charging stations in India until March 20214. Lastly, as both the government and public are becoming more aware about the much needed switch to e-mobility, it is equally important to understand that the presence of e-buses will only be felt when an entire eco-system is developed for such buses, the role of government departments is streamlined so as to ensure an adequate demand-supply equilibrium, fiscal benefits and incentives are continued to be provided, and R&D on more efficient and cost effective technologies is encouraged. It would be interesting to examine whether the upcoming Union Budget will be able to deliver to the expectations of the industry.

• Books

A clarion call

Some parts of Climate Change: Science and Politics are simple and others are complex, much like the issue itself. The truth is stark: we are living on a planet that is heating up. But what we have done with that truth is complicated. And that is what this book seeks to address. It begins with the basics, explaining the earth’s climate system, natural greenhouse effect and the problem of rising emissions. Then it explains at length the impact of climate change on the planet, the history of climate negotiations (from the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro to the Paris Agreement and beyond) and how carbon markets operate. At the heart of the issue is the problem of climate equity. For decades, it has been the industrialised nations which are historically responsible for some 70 per cent of global emissions. Despite their annual emissions slowing down, they have not fundamentally shifted away from a carbon intensive economy. Hence, the developing countries claim that these nations should bear the larger responsibility of repairing the impact of global warming. But they are resisting, “hell-bent on erasing any mention of historical emissions from all texts”. It is in this context that the push towards net zero assumes importance. The UN Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit in October 2019 saw 65 countries commit to the net zero concept. Many like the US, the UK, Canada and France have set a 2050 net zero deadline. But this is problematic on several levels. Several countries, for one, have not charted a clear roadmap on how they are going to meet the deadline. Others are resorting to carbon trading, but given the lack of rules for this under the Paris Agreement, it may not be the long-term solution. At places, the book is too niche and might be of interest only to the specialists. Despite this, it is highly informative and a lot of effort has gone into the research and execution. The tone of the book is urgent. As Sunita Narain, the director general of the Centre for Science and Environment, writes in the preface, “Too much time has been wasted in denial, or plain laxity in getting our act together to move at the speed and scale that is needed. We do not have the luxury of time anymore. My generation has squandered the privilege away.” Perhaps this tone is warranted, given how it underlines the truth that climate change is one issue we cannot remain neutral about. After years of inaction and indifference, we are facing the heat—literally. Climate Change: Science and Politics Published by Centre for Science and Environment Price Rs750; pages 198