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Odd-even last weapon against pollution: Delhi’s environment minister Gopal Rai

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Monday said the government will implement the odd-even road rationing scheme to curb vehicular emissions as the “last weapon” in the fight against air pollution in the national Capital. “We have implemented the odd-even scheme several times in Delhi and it will be our last weapon. Odd-even is also a way to reduce vehicular pollution but right now we are completely focussing on this (‘red light on, gaadi off’) campaign. If all other programmes don’t work, then the government will think about implementing the odd-even scheme,” Rai said at an event to launch a campaign to urge motorists to turn off engines of their vehicles while waiting at traffic lights. Delhi’s air quality has consistently remained in the ‘poor’ category since October 7, with the AQI remaining over 200. On Monday, Delhi’s AQI was measured at 244. Experts also pointed out that since public transport is running with only limited capacity in view of restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the government should step up other measures to ensure that it doesn’t have to resort to enforce odd-even. Bhure Lal, chairperson, Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) said that on-ground enforcement for controlling pollution sources will have to be augmented this time so that emergency measures such as bringing about the odd-even plan can be avoided. “This is surely a different kind of situation that we will be facing this time. The aim should be that the enforcement is so strict this year that the air quality does not slip into the emergency levels,” Lal said. Delhi has so far implemented the oddeven scheme thrice in sweeping measures to reduce the city’s record-high air pollution by limiting the number of cars on streets. After being implemented twice in 2016, the scheme was added to the Supreme Court approved Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) as a measure to be implemented when Delhi’s air quality reached the ‘emergency’ category—PM 2.5 (ultrafine particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 micrometres) are above 300ug/m3 or PM 10 (particulate matter with diameter less than 10 micrometres) levels remain 500ug/m3 continuously for 48 hours. Last year, the scheme was enforced between November 4 and November 15. However, researchers and environment experts have been divided on the oddeven scheme’s impact on the pollution levels in the national capital. When the policy was first implemented between January 1 and 15, 2016, a study by researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, The Energy Research Institute and National Physical Laboratory in Delhi, and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune, found that the PM 2.5 levels fell by 4%-6%. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) also carried out a study of the two phases in 2016 and concluded that a single factor could not result in substantial reductions in pollution and that an “integrated approach” was needed. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment, said with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic the government will have to look at newer strategies to fight pollution. “You cannot remove half of a city’s vehicles without giving them an alternative public transport option. The Delhi government had plans for bringing in new buses, but a lot of things have been delayed because of the pandemic. The government will have to look for newer ways to keep the pollution levels down in these circumstances,” she said. All private petrol, diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG) and hybrid cars, including those entering the city from other states, are required to be a part of the road rationing drive. Only CNG-fuelled commercial vehicles such as autorickshaws, taxis, trucks, buses, tempos and gramin sewas are allowed to ply during the arrangement. Two-wheelers, commercial vehicles, cars driven by women or carrying only women passengers, specially-abled people or school children are exempted from the drive.

Explained: Why floods occur in Hyderabad

Record rain and heavy flooding brought life to a crippling halt in Hyderabad on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people and causing waterlogging in various parts of the city. Police teams and Disaster Response Force (DRF) personnel have evacuated several families from flood-hit localities, even as rescue efforts were under way in other areas. But why do floods occur in Hyderabad? Here's what experts said in 2016 when the city suffered similar miseries due to heavy rains ... 'We don’t have statesmen anymore, we only have politicians' Hyderabad of the early 1900s was wiser than the Hyderabad of today. In 1908, devastation caused by a cloud burst and the flooding of Musi claimed 15,000 lives and rendered 80,000 homeless. But there were amends made after that. Sir Visvesvaraya was commissioned to conduct a study and suggest measures to manage the impact of floods on the city. That’s how two reservoirs — Osmansagar and Himayatsagar — came up to act as flood control centres. A modern system of drainage was also built. In August 2000, the rains wreaked havoc again. The city recorded a total of 469 mm rain, leading to one of the worst floods we’ve seen since 1908. As many as 90 residential areas in the city were under water. Of course, committees were formed, reports were submitted and review meetings were held. But obviously nothing useful seems to have come of those meetings, because it’s September 2016, our city is still flooding. Why? I believe that we just don’t have far-sighted and efficient statesmen anymore; we only have politicians. 'We built a whole new city on top of an agrarian imprint and forgot all about it' We need to understand that Hyderabad is a system of catchments. The western edge is in the Godavari River basin (from Kukatpally, Ramchandrapuram, to Gachibowli). To the east, it’s in the Krishna River basin. Also, Hyderabad is in the Deccan region, which has a chaotic drainage pattern — water here does not flow in a single direction as the slope is in multiple directions. These tanks served agrarian purposes and the areas surrounding them were ‘protected local catchment areas’. In the last 40 years, we’ve gone and built a complete city on top of this agrarian imprint. We’ve built roads, which are rigid boundaries, around the ‘fluid’ water bodies, without any buffer areas. Our Necklace Road is a spectacular example of that. Both in the command area and in the foreshore of tanks, we have developed real estate. Having said that, there are a lot of things that can still be done to reverse the effects. We must begin to take stock of the entire drainage system, not just the nalas. We must see the whole city as a catchment area and begin to clear critical areas of encroachments. It sounds like a lot but it is actually only a matter of intelligent readjustment and it can be done at a low cost. For all this to be implemented, we need an executive and ‘ecological’ body like a “Lakes and Parks Authority”, which can draw upon and coordinate the relevant parts of the functions at HMDA, GHMC and departments like revenue, irrigation, roads and buildings 'A big lie that everyone has bought into is that it doesn’t rain so much in Hyderabad, but history tells us otherwise' While the overall slope of all the localities in Hyderabad remains more or less the same, almost all the nalas, storm drains, culverts are gone — either land-filled and built over or simply filled with garbage, detritus and forgotten. So, the water which is used to flowing in a particular way has no choice any more. Where will it go? Take Alwal for instance. It’s naturally a low-lying area and most of the ‘development’ has come up around small ponds or lakes and their bunds. There must have been 15-20 of these lakes and ponds at one time. Take places close to Alwal, like Lothakunta and Tadbund — their very names are indicative of their natural history. But is there any kunta (pond) near Lothakunta nowadays? Is there any ‘bund’ near Tadbund? May be just some remnants. There has been massive urbanisation all over Alwal and its surrounding areas in the last three-four years. More and more of the land gets developed into colonies, gated communities, massive apartment blocks or ‘independent houses’ that are cheek by jowl. So 16 years after the 2000 floods, we are not anywhere close to reducing risks. Because everyone has bought into the big lie that it ‘never really rains in Hyderabad’. But just a perfunctory understanding of natural history tells us otherwise! 'We have been feeding our lakes a diet of garbage, sewage and making them sick' One of our biggest failures is waste management. You see, every water body has a holding capacity. But over the years, with all the industrial waste and sewage being dumped into the lakes, the waste accumulated and has now affected the holding capacity of the lakes, vertically. So, the original ‘full tank limit’ of our waterbodies /lakes doesn’t hold good anymore. Off the record, officials will also admit that we should reduce the FTL by half, since the rest is filled with silt. That’s not all. Even the feeder channels, which used to bring storm water to the lakes, have been reduced to drainage pipes which dump garbage, chemical waste and sewage water into them. We caused this! Sadly, even if some people are doing their bit, the government is undoing all the good. Take for instance the High Court order passed in January 2016 on segregation of dry and wet waste. You might be doing it at your home, but they are still collecting all waste together and dumping them together. There are laws like Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, and The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, in place. But the question is, who is executing them? Hopefully, we’ll act before our water bodies die and we drown! In its 2016 report titled 'State of India’s urban Water Bodies', the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) had estimated that in the last 12 years, Hyderabad has lost 3,245 ha of its wet lands. The report had said that urban water bodies in India have been a victim of unplanned urbanisation, because of which they face several threats such as encroachment, disposal of sewage and groundwater decline. Urban storm water management may not be efficient unless it was handled in conjunctive manner. A multidimensional approach is necessary to solve this problem. For the recent case, some of the management options which has to be carried simultaneously to address the problem are: * Risk mapping of the areas of the city should be done to assess the vulnerability, related to urban floods, using GIS Technology. Limit, reduce and/or mitigate for impervious surfaces throughout the watershed by Use of new engineering techniques like pervious pathways, pervious parking lots should be considered and implemented wherever possible to minimize the surface runoff. * Town Planning department of GHMC should regularly monitor the prohibited areas to prevent encroachments. * Conserve and protect areas for groundwater recharge. Utilize conjunctive management to enhance groundwater storage: in some instances, diversions of surface water for groundwater infiltration could enhance flood management by reducing peak flows. * Promote groundwater recharge and pollutant attenuation by removing concrete flood-control channels and exposing the underlying native sediment. *GHMC/HMWSSB should rethink its policy of charging amount for rainwater harvesting structures while according permission to plan. They should keep this as a check point for giving occupancy certificate.

Another worry for Kolkata as air quality dips ahead of Puja

Kolkata: Some leading doctors in the city have warned that the post-festival surge in infection and rapidly declining air quality will complicate the battle against Covid-19. Weak lungs — an outcome of constant breathing of toxic air — will lead to a difficult situation to fight the disease, said the doctors at a webinar to mark the beginning of Bengal Clean Air Network (Bengal CAN), a citizenship initiative against environmental degradation. Significantly, the alert came at a time when the city’s air quality has started turning foul after nearly an eight-month long spell of good air. This is the time when the inversion of temperature prevents rise and dispersal of pollutants from the lower layers of the atmosphere as the warm air above and cooler air on the surface of the earth acts like a lid trapping the pollutants at the breathing height. Sanjukta Dutta, an emergency medicine expert, said, “Lockdown has clearly shown the widespread benefit of clean air. Patients of lung diseases like asthma and COPD are doing extremely well with lesser medication or no medication. Many are not requiring nebulisation or oxygen support that they had to use regularly. Many patients of hypertension are maintaining normal blood pressure with reduced medication. Hospitals in the city are receiving significantly fewer cases of heart attack and stroke.” Arup Haldar, a pulmonologist, said, “The presence of oxidants in lungs aggravates the severity of infections. The oxidative stress actually accelerates the seriousness of a patient, making it a lost battle.” Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) executive director, Anumita Roychowdhury, said the particulate pollution affects every cell and organ in the human body. Heart and lung diseases and several others like dementia, liver problems, brain, intelligence, abdominal organ failures, brittle bones and bladder cancer are caused due to particulate pollution. West Bengal Pollution Control Board chairman Kalyan Rudra said, “The ambient air routinely gets toxic on Diwali night, which fails to recover fully, despite a series of measures. However, source apportionment study and pollutant specific remedial measures started yielding good results.” Suman Mallick, head of radiation oncology at a leading hospital said, “The air pollution is one of the most important causes behind respiratory diseases and lung cancer. Thus, there is no room for debate whether worsening air quality will make the battle against Covid-19 far more difficult. The spike in cases post festival and worsening air quality will be a nightmarish combo.”

Delhi struggles to control garbage burning

Every winter, residents of Kirari in northwest Delhi wake up to a think blanket of smoke enveloping the entire area. It is mostly because of open burning of piles of waste every evening. This year too, complaints have already started pouring in and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has slapped the North Delhi Municipal Corporation with a fine of Rs 1 crore for its failure to control these fires, which are one of the major local contributors to air pollution in Delhi. “During a surprise inspection we found that the garbage was being burned beside the main road since morning and no official action was taken by the local municipality against the burning,” said Gopal Rai, Delhi environment minister. Local residents said many open spaces along the main road have become a dumping site for local waste and every now and then someone lights these piles on fire, enveloping the entire area in a grey blanket. In Dwarka, residents complained that vacant plots have been turned into dumping grounds and despite repeated complaints to the pollution control agencies and the local municipalities, waste burning continues. “Garbage burning is common in Dwarka and in its surrounding areas. The (Winter)seasonhas begun and the government must set up a 24×7 helpline for reporting garbage burning to control pollution. It normally happens in vacant DDA (Delhi Development Authority) plots,” Karamvir Anil Parashar, activist and resident of Dwarka tweeted, along with pictures of smoke emanating from garbage fires. Experts agreed that waste management is an area where authorities need to work harder. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said waste management can be tackled with strict enforcement. “Waste burning is an offshoot of the larger problem of waste disposal and management. Agencies will need to stepup action not just during winters but all year long in order to control this,” said Roychowdhury. A senior official of the north corporation said that the agency is doing its best to control cases of open burning in their areas. “While you can take prompt action against other polluting sources, preventing waste burning is difficult. The action in such a case is taken afterwards when the damage is done. What we can do is douse such fires immediately to prevent any further damage. Complete control can only come with awareness and cooperation from the public,” the official said.

No clean sweep for colony roads in Delhi

New Delhi: With air quality levels plunging and pollution once again a visible reality, the focus has shifted to determining where pollutants come from. In Delhi, a major pollutant is street dust. In the past few years, the municipal corporations have significantly upgraded their earlier non-existent tools in the fight against pollution, but inner roads in residential areas remain untouched by this modernisation. The city currently has a fleet of over 59 high-capacity mechanical road sweepers (MRS), which mainly clean the major roads. While MRS operate on around 1,300km of road surfaces every day, over 20,000km of smaller roads in residential and inner colony areas are still swept manually. A South Delhi Municipal Corporation official claimed to be operating 24 such sweepers on 700km of roads every day in addition to the use of 83 water sprinklers on 600km of road a day. But, as he admitted, “They only work on roads wider than 60ft, most of them under PWD’s jurisdiction. The size of these machines makes them unsuitable for use on smaller roads.” Experts said out that a blend of vacuuming and water sprinkling before road sweeping along with change in timings of road cleaning can help in reduction of direct exposure to particulate matter, metals and harmful organic contaminants. Elsewhere in other world cities, with the earliest street sweeping programme started by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia in the 1790s, manual cleaning has been largely replaced by mechanised methods. In Delhi, though, a municipal official noted, “Considering the massive length of inner colony roads and the poor state of many stretches along with the high input cost of MRS, it is not yet practical to mechanically sweep colony roads.” In 2018, SDMC started experimenting with the Jatayu vacuum-based litterpicker machines in some markets. The project, however, could not be expanded to other areas. The municipal councillors have repeatedly demanded the procurement of smaller road sweepers using funds given by the Union urban development ministry, but experts opine that such mechanised units are feasible only on well-maintained roads, not on coarse or eroded surfaces. Night sweeping of select roads can be an alternative during pollution season. In 2004, Delhi High Court asked the then unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi to start night sweeping to reduce dust in the morning hours. Municipal officials said this was carried out in 46 colonies for several years, but was hampered by challenges like safety of female workers and logistics. “There is the additional problem of colony roads being occupied by parked cars, obstructing the sweeping programme,” pointed out an EDMC official. Traditional beliefs are also a hindrance. An SDMC official said traders, according to Vaastu recommendations, clean their shops in the mornings, upending all the night cleaning done in markets by the municipal corporations. Night sweeping, therefore, some officials said, can work only in some localities such as those identified as pollution hotspots for a short duration. “A better solution is to deploy water sprinklers with the sweeping units. The areas can be first sprinkled with water and then swept,” suggested a civic official. A Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) 2016 analysis of a busy onekilometre stretch on Ghazipur road in Mayur Vihar found that on vacuuming the road, the PM2.5 (respirable pollutants smaller than 2.5 microns) level dropped from 562 micrograms per cubic metre to 517 an hour after the cleaning. CSE, however, observed that the overall effectiveness of the measure was impacted by traffic volume. Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy) at CSE, said this meant a multi-pronged approach was required to tackle the dust problem, with mechanised sweepers not the sole solution. Chowdhury pointed out how the lockdown proved reduced traffic brought down dust re-suspension on the roads. “Roads with high traffic are where mechanised sweepers are needed the most. Sure, the traffic will raise the pollution level, but the dust re-suspension is minimised. In the smaller lanes inside colonies, dust re-suspension is not as big an issue,” said Chowdhury, adding that smaller cleaning machines could certainly be operated on such lanes.

सर्दियों के साथ बढ़ रहे पराली जलाने के मामले; आखिर क्या है इसका समाधान?

पंजाब, हरियाणा और उत्तर प्रदेश में किसानों ने पराली जलाना शुरू कर दिया है। इससे राष्ट्रीय राजधानी दिल्ली और NCR क्षेत्र में वायु प्रदूषण बढ़ रहा है। ऐसे में सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने गत शुक्रवार को पराली जलाने को रोकने के लिए सेवानिवृत्त न्यायाधीश मदन बी लोकुर के नेतृत्व में एक निगरानी समिति का गठन किया है। यह समिति एक सप्ताह में अपनी रिपोर्ट प्रस्तुत करेगी। ऐसे में आइए पराली जलाने के नुकसान और संभावित स्थाई समाधानों के बारे में जानें क्या होती है पराली? खेतों में धान (चावल) की फलस काटे जाने के बाद बचने वाले अवशेष को पराली कहते हैं। पंजाब, हरियाणा और उत्तर प्रदेश में सबसे ज्यादा धान की फसल होती है। ऐसे में गेहूं की फसल की बुवाई के लिए किसानों को खेतों की सफाई कर इस पराली को हटाना पड़ता है। किसान जल्दबाजी में पराली को जलाकर गेहूं की बुवाई शुरू कर देते हैं, लेकिन किसानों की यही जल्दबाजी हवा की गुणवत्ता को खराब कर रही है। दूषित हवा लोगों के फेफड़े कर रही खराब चिकित्सा विशेषज्ञों के अनुसार पराली जलाने के बाद दूषित हुई हवा में सांस लेने से लोगों के फेफडे़ खराब हो रहे हैं। ग्रीनपीस साउथ ईस्ट एशिया की रिपोर्ट के अनुसार भारत में हर साल 10 लाख लोगों की मौत वायु प्रदूषण के कारण हो रही है। देश में वायु प्रदूषण का सबसे बड़ा कारण जीवाश्म ईंधन का बढ़ता उपयोग होने के साथ जलाई जाने वाली पराली भी है। ऐसे में देश में लोगों का जीवन सिकुड़ता जा रहा है। वर्तमान में दिल्ली-NCR क्षेत्र की हालत हो रही खराब पराली जलाने के कारण वर्तमान में दिल्ली-NCR क्षेत्र की हालत बहुत खराब हो रही है। सोमवार को दिल्ली में वायु गुणवत्ता सूचकांक (AQI) 232 था। ऐसे में दिल्ली सरकार ने बचाव के लिए 'रेड लाइन ऑन, इंजन ऑफ' अभियान भी शुरू किया है। राली जलाने से खत्म होती है मिट्टी में मौजूद पोषक तत्व पराली जलाने की वजह से उपजी ऊष्मा (गरमी) मिट्टी की तकरीबन एक सेंटीमीटर की परत तक पहुंच जाती है। इससे मिट्टी में मौजूद तकरीबन 50 प्रतिशत उपयोगी बैक्टरिया मर जाते हैं। जिसकी वजह से जमीन की उपजाऊ क्षमता बहुत कम हो जाती है। हालांकि, हरियाणा और पंजाब सरकार ने पराली प्रबन्धन के लिए जरूरी कृषि उपकरणों के खरीद पर सब्सिडी का प्रावधान किया है, लेकिन इसे हासिल करने की जटिलताओं के कारण सभी को इसका लाभ नहीं मिल पाता। पराली का किया जा सकता है अन्य उपयोग किसान पराली का उपयोग छप्पर बनाने या मवेशियों का बिस्तर बनाने में कर सकते हैं। सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (CSE) की अनुमिता रॉय चौधरी के अनुसार पराली को जलने से रोकने के लिए उसका उपयोग बढ़ाया जाना चाहिए। एक विकल्प बिजली पैदा करने के लिए पराली से बायोमास पैदा करना है। इसी तरह भूसे का उपयोग मशरूम की खेती के काम करने वाले छर्रों को बनाने में किया जा सकता है, लेकिन इसके लिए सरकार को प्रयास करने होंगे। पराली के जरिए बढ़ाई जा सकती है मिट्टी की उपाजाऊता एक रिपोर्ट के अनुसार पराली को अगर बहुत दिनों तक जमीन पर ही छोड़ दिया जाए तो मिट्टी में सूक्ष्मजैविकों की रासायनिक अभिक्रिया बढ़ सकती है और मिट्टी उपजाऊ हो सकती है, लेकिन इसमें समय अधिक लगता है। इस कारण किसान जल्दबाजी में पराली को जलाना उचित समझते हैं। ऐसे में सरकार को चाहिए कि तकनीक के जरिए ऐसे उत्पादों का निर्माण कराया जाए, जिनसे पराली जल्दी गल जाए और किसानों को उनके उपयोग के लिए प्रेरित करे

Delhi’s air quality drops as stubble burning rises

New Delhi: With winter slowly setting in, the air quality in the national capital has plummeted to the poor category and much of this is being blamed on the stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana. Stubble burning constitutes about 3% to 40% of the bad air quality in Delhi and on Friday, stubble burning contributed 28% of the poor air quality in Delhi. However, farmers every year burn their stubble which is left behind after harvesting their rice crop. Farmers in the states like Punjab and Haryana take to burning the leftover stubble from the harvested rice crop in order to prepare their fields for the next wheat sowing season which begins from November. Farmers say that they have no other option, but to set their fields on fire since they have received little or no help from the government. They also claim that most of the farmers are poor and cannot afford a machine to remove these leftover stubbles from the fields. Bhupinder Singh Mann, president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), told The Sunday Guardian that the farmers set their fields on fire since they are helpless. “If the farmers had received benefit from mechanically cutting these stubbles, why would they have set their fields on fire? They also know that it affects their fields as well as their health. They are helpless, they have no money to buy these big machines. The government just talks and makes big promises, but on the ground, nothing is being done for them. There are thousands of poor farmers, and if the government is serious about handling the issue of stubble burning, they need to come out with a concrete plan,” Mann said. Asked about the subsidy being provided by the government on machines that helps to cut these leftover stubbles from the rice crop, Mann said, “The subsidy is too little, the government is not paying 100%. Moreover, the price set by the government and the price at which these machines are available in the market are very different. Also, these machines need diesel and a tractor to run, does a poor farmer have so much of money?” Anumita Roy Chowdhury, programme director at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), told The Sunday Guardian that there is a need to have a systemic approach for straw management. “There needs to be two kinds of solution for managing stubble burning–one is in-situ management of the straws and the second is ex-situ management of the straws where these straws can be used for other purposes. For example, the thermal power plants can take these straws and use as fuel for power generation. The NHAI can take these straws to build roads. We need to add value to these straws and only then would the poor farmer make effort to remove them from the field instead of burning them down,” Roy Chowdhury said. Environmental experts also say that vehicular pollution contributes a major chunk of the PM 2.5 and PM 10 particulate matter in Delhi’s air, making it difficult and harmful to breathe and Delhi has over one crore active cars plying on the roads of Delhi. Delhi’s air quality since the beginning of October has remained in the “poor” to “very poor” category as the two major pollutants PM 2.5 and PM 10 has increased significantly.

वायु प्रदूषण में चार से 30 फीसदी तक हो सकता है पराली का योगदान : अनुमिता रॉय

सर्दियों की शुरुआत से पहले एक बार फिर दिल्ली में वायु प्रदूषण का स्तर बढ़ने लगा है। इसमें पराली जलाए जाने के योगदान को लेकर दिल्ली के मुख्यमंत्री अरविंद केजरीवाल और केंद्रीय पर्यावरण मंत्री प्रकाश जावड़ेकर ने अलग-अलग दावे किए हैं। इस संबंध में पेश हैं ‘सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड इन्वायरमेंट’ (सीएसई) की कार्यकारी निदेशक अनुमिता रॉय चौधरी से भाषा’ के पांच सवाल और उनके जवाब। सवाल: वायु प्रदूषण बढ़ने में पराली जलाने के योगदान को लेकर केंद्र एवं दिल्ली सरकार में बहस देखने को मिली है। ऐसे में सवाल यह है कि क्या सर्दियों के समय प्रदूषण बढ़ने का मुख्य कारण पंजाब और हरियाणा जैसे राज्यों में पराली का जलाया जाना है? जवाब: सर्दियों में वायु प्रदूषण बढ़ने का मुख्य कारण यह है कि तापमान कम होता है और हवा थम जाती है जिससे प्रदूषक कण जम जाते हैं। हवा में गति नहीं होने से प्रदूषण हट नहीं पाता है। वाहनों, ऊर्जा संयंत्रों, निर्माण गतिविधियों से उत्पन्न प्रदूषक तत्व भी नहीं हट पाते हैं। पराली जलाने का काम अक्टूबर-नवंबर के बीच होता है। इस पर नियंत्रण करना होगा, लेकिन इसका मतलब यह नहीं है कि पराली ही दिल्ली-एनसीआर में प्रदूषण का एकमात्र कारण है। पराली को लेकर सख्त कदम उठाने होंगे, लेकिन इसके साथ ही दूसरे स्रोतों पर नियंत्रण करना भी जरूरी है। सवाल: अब तक हुए अध्ययनों के हिसाब से इस मौसम के दौरान दिल्ली-एनसीआर के प्रदूषण में पराली जलाने का कितना योगदान है? जवाब: जब पराली जलती है तो हवा की गति और दिशा पर निर्भर करता है कि धुएं का असर दिल्ली या किसी दूसरे स्थान पर कितना होगा। जो आंकड़े मौजूद हैं, वे दिखाते हैं कि प्रदूषण बढ़ने में पराली जलने का योगदान चार से 30 फीसदी तक हो सकता है। पराली प्रदूषण बढ़ने का स्थायी स्रोत नहीं है। गाड़ियां, निर्माण कार्य, कचरा जलाया जाना और कुछ अन्य औद्योगिक गतिविधियां ऐसे स्थायी स्रोत हैं जिनसे पूरे साल प्रदूषण होता है। सवाल: यह कोविड महामारी का समय है और प्रदूषण लोगों की चिंता बढ़ा सकता है। ऐसे में बतौर पर्यावरण विशेषज्ञ आपका क्या अनुमान है कि पिछले साल के मुकाबले इस बार प्रदूषण की स्थिति कैसी होगी? जवाब: विभिन्न अस्पतालों द्वारा किए गए अध्ययन से पता चलता है कि सर्दियों के समय सांस संबंधी समस्याएं बढ़ जाती हैं। इस साल एक और चिंता कोविड को लेकर है। अब तक के अध्ययन दिखाते हैं कि जिन लोगों के फेफड़े और श्वसन तंत्र कमजोर है, उनके लिए कोविड बड़ा खतरा है। ऐसे में चिकित्सकों की तरफ से चेतावनी दी जा रही है कि लोगों को सर्दियों में पूरी सावधानी बरतनी होगी। प्रदूषण बढ़ने की शुरुआत हो गई है और संबंधित प्राधिकारों को त्वरित कदम उठाने होंगे, अन्यथा वायु प्रदूषण का स्तर पहले के वर्षों की तरह ही बढ़ सकता है। सवाल: इन हालात में वायु प्रदूषण के स्तर को नियंत्रित रखने के लिए फौरी तौर पर क्या कदम उठाने होंगे? जवाब: पहले प्रदूषण का स्तर बहुत ज्यादा बढ़ने पर निर्माण कार्य बंद कर दिए जाते थे। लेकिन इस बार अर्थव्यवस्था की स्थिति को देखते हुए ऐसे कदम उठाना आसान नहीं होगा। व्यवस्थागत सुधार में समय लगता है। अब सर्दी बेहद नजदीक आ चुकी है। ऐसे में हम आपात कदम उठा सकते हैं। आपात कदमों के संदर्भ में बिल्कुल बर्दाश्त नहीं करने की नीति अपनानी होगी। मसलन, कचरा जलाए जाने पर सख्ती से रोक लगाई जाए, निर्माण गतिविधियों के दौरान धूल को नियंत्रित करने के लिए प्रभावी कदम उठाए जाएं और लकड़ियां जलाने को रोकने के लिए लोगों को सब्सिडी पर एलपीजी दी जाए। इस तरह के कई अन्य कदम उठाए जाने चाहिए। सवाल: प्रदूषण नियंत्रित करने के लिए दिल्ली सरकार और अन्य संबंधित राज्यों की सरकारों एवं प्रशासनिक इकाइयों की ओर से हाल के समय में उठाए गए कदम कितने संतोषजनक हैं? जवाब : दिल्ली और एनसीआर में दो तरह की कार्य योजना पर अमल हुआ है। एक है समग्र कार्ययोजना, जिसके तहत प्रदूषण के सभी स्रोतों को नियंत्रित करने से जुड़े उपाय शामिल हैं। दूसरी है आपात स्थिति की कार्य योजना। समग्र कार्य योजना के तहत कुछ काम जरूर हुए हैं। मसलन, कई प्रदूषण फैलाने वाले ऊर्जा संयंत्रों का बंद होना और पुराने डीजल वाहनों का परिचालन बंद करना। कई दूसरी चीजें भी आगे बढ़ी हैं। कुछ चीजें आगे नहीं बढ़ी हैं। मसलन कचरा जलाने को लेकर कोई खास ठोस कदम नहीं उठाया गया है। सार्वजनिक परिवहन सेवा में जैसा सुधार होना चाहिए था, वह नहीं हुआ है। सम-विषम जैसे कदम आपात स्थिति में उठाए जाते हैं। लेकिन हमें आपात कदम के साथ ही समग्र कार्य योजना पर गंभीरता दिखानी होगी। स्थायी कदम और आपात कदम में अंतर होता है, इसे लोगों को समझना होगा।

CSE to introduce ‘First Run’ to encourage cleaner power statations

As part of its initiatives to build an ecosystem of incentives and deterrence measures, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has developed a new concept called ‘First Run.’ Experts believe that the initiative would encourage cleaner power stations to work on a priority basis. “This could act as a catalyst to drive the coalfired power sector to meet the 2022 emission standard deadlines as a matter of urgency,” said a release issued by the CSE. A webinar to discuss and debate this issue will be held on October 21, between 4pm to 5pm. The panel of experts include Bibek Debroy, chairperson of the Prime Minister's Economic Council, Sanjiv Nandan Sahai, secretary, Union ministry of power, Gurdeep Singh, chairperson and MD, NTPC Ltd, Anil Sardana, MD and CEO, Adani Transmission Ltd, and Nivit K Yadav, programme director, Industrial Pollution, CSE. The session will be anchored and moderated by CSE director general Sunita Narain. Key stakeholders representing regulatory agencies, civil society organisations, power plants and academia are also being invited to participate. “Coal-based power is one of the most resource-intensive and polluting industries. In 2015, the ministry of environment, forest and climate change introduced stricter environmental standards for this sector under the Environment Protection Act, 1986. The deadline for meeting these norms is 2022 — but with just two years to go, most plants do not seem to have taken adequate action nor made significant progress towards meeting them,” said a release from the CSE.

Smog returns to Indian capital as agriculture fires start

The Indian capital’s air quality levels plunged to “very poor” on Friday and a smoggy haze settled over the city, days after the state government initiated stricter measures to fight chronic air pollution. The Air Quality Index in New Delhi rose past 270, according to SAFAR, India’s main environment monitoring agency, after agricultural fires in neighbouring states sent smoke billowing across the city. The World Health Organization deems anything above 25 as unsafe. The national capital, one of the world’s most polluted cities, enjoyed a respite from air pollution up until September in part thanks to a virus lockdown. But with industrial activities resuming and cars back on the roads — along with the onset of cooler weather and less wind — air quality in the city has once again fallen to unhealthy levels. October is also the time of year when farmers in neighbouring regions, including the states of Haryana and Punjab, set fire to their post-harvest fields to clear them, despite there being a ban on it. That smoke travels to New Delhi, leading to a surge in pollution levels in the city of more than 20 million people and exacerbating what is already a public health crisis. Health experts say high air pollution levels over a prolonged period have compromised the disease resistance of people living in New Delhi, making them more susceptible to the coronavirus. Over the years, the pollution crisis in New Delhi has piled public pressure on the government to tackle the root causes. Authorities have often introduced a system that restricts many private vehicles from taking to the roads for two weeks. It has also ordered firefighters to sprinkle water from high-rise buildings to settle the dust, tried to snuff out garbage fires and ordered builders to cover construction sites to stop dust from enveloping the area. But the problem continues to persist. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director at the New Delhi-based group Centre for Science and Environment and an air pollution expert, said that ensuring millions of farmers across multiple Indian states have timely access to the microbial solution will remain a challenge. Roychowdhury also said India needs to have a certain preparedness in the health care sector because the upcoming winter season and toxic air will exacerbate respiratory problems in people. “Our health care system will also have to respond adequately,” she said

CPCB divides Delhi into 4 zones to focus better on anti-pollution war

A majority of Delhi’s 13 bad air hot spots saw a spike in PM2.5 levels in February this year, as compared to the same period in 2019, the Central Pollution Control Board said on Friday, even as they announced that the city would be divided city into four zones to allow more focussed and specifically tailored anti-pollution efforts. In nine of the 13 pollution hot spots, PM 2.5 (particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 micrometres) levels in February increased compared to the same period last year. The levels of PM10 (particulate matter with diameter less than 10 micrometres) were higher in six hot spots that month, as compared to last year, CPCB data showed. Keeping this mind, as well as the rising pollution levels in Delhi and rest of the National Capital Region, senior officials of the anti-pollution body said the city will be categorised into four quadrants—clean, moderate, polluted and critical. This cluster approach — a part of CPCB’s winter emergency plan — will help agencies monitor areas and pass on information to enforcement teams to focus action, the officials said, adding the division was made based on pollution levels recorded in each area. Speaking about the February spike in PM levels recorded this year, Prashant Gargava, CPCB member secretary, said it was observed that while all resources were focused on controlling the pollution spike in the winter months, especially in December and January when plunge in air quality is most severe, this effort was not consistent. Gargava said this was possibly due to lax on-ground monitoring after the peak winter months. Dwarka saw PM 2.5 levels spike by 44%, while the surge was between 11-14% in Mundka, Narela and Rohini. Six areas, including Bawana, Dwarka, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, Rohini, saw PM10 levels rise between 1-17%. “We have directed state governments to ensure their enforcement teams are also constantly monitoring the ground situation till February-end. Long-term plans are necessary and we will require the cooperation of all agencies as well as the people of Delhi to curb the levels this year,” Gargava said. In response, Delhi’s environment minister Gopal Rai said that the government has been working around the year to control pollution levels. “Apart from improving enforcement on the ground, our government has come up with long-term policies, which will help keep pollution levels in check through the year. Our initiatives such as the tree transplantation policy, electric vehicle policy, etc., will go a long way to help bring down pollution levels in the city,” Rai said. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), agreed that consistent enforcement is needed to ensure good air quality in Delhi, especially in the 13 hot spots where the pollution levels are higher. “The action needs to be consistent and not just focused during winter months. Compared to January, February is generally warmer with more favourable weather conditions so with stricter action there can be a lot of reduction in the levels,” Roychowdhury.

Years of Poor Urban Planning Contributed to Hyderabad’s Flash Floods

Hyderabad: While Telangana chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) has touted Hyderabad as a ‘global city’, the capital was hit by flash floods earlier this week and has remained cut off from the rest of the world after major roads were washed away. Experts have attributed this turn of events to poor urban planning, a woeful drainage system and the pitiable condition of the Musi river, multiple streams and water-storage tanks, as a result of unplanned urbanisation. Most parts of Hyderabad lost power and internet connectivity for two days following the floods. The state government has already estimated the losses to amount to Rs 5,000 crore. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, chief minister KCR sought immediate relief of Rs 1,350 crore from the Centre. Although official figures aren’t yet available, reports suggest the floods have already claimed more than 50 lives in the state as well as have left thousands homeless (as on October 16 morning). Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, a member of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), said in a tweet on October 14 that a boundary wall (of some sort) had also collapsed in the Mohammedia Hills part of the city, killing nine people and injuring several others, many critically so. Urban flooding Some parts of the city reportedly received 32 cm of rain in 24 hours – the highest in a century. According to unofficial accounts, multiple teams of the National Disaster Response Force and army personnel have set out by boats to evacuate stranded people. The last time the city saw serious flooding was in August 2000, with rainfall of 24 cm in a single day, claiming 15 lives. In 1908, the River Musi was in deluge, subjecting leading to as many as 15,000 deaths. This calamity prompted the government to rope in veteran irrigation expert Mokshagundam Viseswarayya for a study on flood mitigation. Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar were built to act as flood control centres as a result of the expert’s recommendations. But one of his vital recommendations – a modern drainage system – still remains a dream. According to K.J. Ramesh, former director general, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), urban flooding occurs due to the incapacity of the city to handle rainwater during extreme rainfall events. Speaking to The Wire, Ramesh underlined the need to build climate-resilient infrastructure in cities on a priority basis, as a deterrent against disasters of this kind. Hyderabad is endowed with a system of catchments. Its western edges are in the Godavari river basin (from Kukatpalli, Ramachandrapuram to Gachibowli) while its eastern part is in the Krishnaa river basin. The Deccan region as a whole has a chaotic drainage pattern – water does not flow in a single direction, as the slope moves in multiple directions. In a 2016 report, the Centre for Science and Environment estimated that in the last 12 years, Hyderabad has lost 3,245 hectares of wetlands. The report further said that urban water bodies have been a victim of unplanned urbanisation, facing serious threats such as encroachments, disposal of sewage and groundwater decline. Musi’s fury The Telangana Rashtra Samithi government headed by KCR established the Musi Riverfront Development Corporation and gave it Rs 1,665 crore in 2017, with the express objective of cleansing the river of encroachments and effluents. But the mission failed to move forward, though the corporation has paid Rs 3.15 crore in salaries annually nonetheless. A survey undertaken by the corporation revealed that the river that criss-crosses the city is cluttered with 12,000 encroachments in the form of structures of varying sizes. The decision to remove such encroachments is in limbo for want of permission from the government. The government’s ‘lopsided’ priorities have been blamed for the nightmares the city is currently passing through. C. Ramachandraiah, a professor at the Hyderabad-based Centre for Economic and Social Studies, told The Wire that the TRS government in the last six years of rule only focused on flyovers and bridges, and actively made way for rapid urban development with a scant regard for flood mitigation plans in the city. The course of the Musi river has been narrowed at many places in the city because of encroachments. Its path has to be straightened by removing high-rise buildings that came up on the river bunds to make way for free flow of waters. The government should prepare itself to relocate and rehabilitate the dwellers residing on the river bunds, Ramachandraiah said. Nalas (streams) and drainage channels are getting choked with construction debris, and domestic and industrial waste, causing flooding, he added. Who is to blame? Everyone is complicit in making public life miserable in Hyderabad, says civil society member Raka Sudhakar. Governments in the past and present have been choosing nalas as ideal places for implementing housing schemes for the urban poor. The erstwhile Congress government proposed to build houses under the Rajiv Griha Kalpa along the course of nalas, and the present TRS government too has planned two BHK flats at the same places, Sudhakar pointed out. People making a living on encroachments on tanks and nalas in the city are estimated to be between seven and ten lakh. That over 1,000 colonies were effected by the recent floods points to the volume of encroachments. No party, apparently, can afford to antagonise such a large number of people before elections for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation scheduled in November. Corporate hospitals and even luxury hotels have been allowed to come up on nalas, with impunity. Necklace Road was built on nine channels that bring sewage water into the Hussain Sagar lake from different parts of the city, but these channels are reportedly now narrow as a result of road building. During floods, waters flow in the opposite direction, thereby flooding vulnerable areas for want of an outlet at the mouth of the lake. The authorities reportedly narrowed the outlets with meshes so as to prevent garbage and other waste from entering the water body. Telangana State Pradesh Congress Committee (TSPCC) president N. Uttamkumar Reddy and BJP Union minister of state for home G. Kishen Reddy held the TRS regime squarely responsible for the city’s plight. Kishen Reddy said the KCR government turned a blind eye to its own agenda of the Musi Riverfront Development Project. TRS’s urban development minister K.T. Rama Rao, in turn, taunted the Union minister, asking why he failed to bring sufficient funds from the Centre for city development. And so, the blame game goes on till the upcoming municipal elections.

A Covid-19 twist in Delhi’s fight against bad air?

A study based on real-time pollution data during the Covid-19 lockdown this April helped Delhi get its baseline pollution levels -- the minimum pollution when major polluting sources are shut. Now, with most restrictions removed in a phased manner, the pandemic may be causing deterioration of air pollution in the Capital. Experts say that while the Covid-19 pandemic has restricted activities, it has resulted in fewer people using public transport, leading to more use of personal vehicles. More vehicles on road means more emissions, which, coupled with poor dispersal due to slow wind speed, leads to higher ambient air pollution levels. Air quality in Delhi and neighbouring cities of Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida and Gurugram was recorded in the “very poor” category on Thursday. According to the data by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, the ridership in the past fortnight has been 78% of the number of people who took the Metro during same period last year due to Covid restrictions. Even though ridership is rising, a Metro spokesperson said that it would take some months before the passenger level reaches pre-Covid levels. Similarly, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has recorded a dip in daily bus ridership. Transport minister Kailash Gahlot had said last week that there was about 54% dip in ridership due to Covid restrictions which allows filling only half of the seats. While several people are working from homes, traffic on Delhi roads is rising. Data from Google’s community mobility trends shows traffic on Delhi roads was just 30% less than the pre-Covid period baseline of January 3 to February 6, this year. In August, this dip was 67%, and in April 80%. As only limited public transport was available, Delhi also witnessed a spike in vehicle sales after Covid unlock guidelines were implemented from June 8. According to Society for Automobile Manufacturing (SIAM), Delhi, has seen an increase of about 16% in sale of new passenger vehicles -- cars and two-wheelers – as compared to same period last year. The overall vehicles sales increase in August in India was 14.6%. SIAM is yet to release data for September. Anumita Roychowdhury of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said the Covid pandemic has thrown new challenges for air pollution management. “We cannot intensify public transport as Covid restrictions will remain. We may need to reinforce work from home option to prevent unnecessary travel to cope with rise in winter pollution,” she said.

Punjab farm fires up 3-fold from last year

Satellite images of the first two weeks of October have revealed a near threefold increase in stubble fires in Punjab this year compared with the same period last year. Experts said multiple factors, including timing of seeding, harvesting, variety of paddy and crop rotation, needed to be studied to determine the reasons behind the increase in the early fire count this year. After analysing the VIIRS satellite images, Pawan Gupta, senior scientist of earth sciences at Universities Space Research Association of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, said, “From October 1 to 14 this year, 2,909 fires were observed in Punjab against 847 last year. However, Haryana made a marginal improvement as 804 fires were observed in the first two weeks of October while 947 fires were seen during the same period in 2019.” Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director of research and advocacy at Centre for Science and Environment, said, “We need to investigate the reasons for early burning this year and see how it is linked with the timings of sowing and harvesting this year; and what impact this would have on the intensity of burning during late October and early November.”

Dealing with a deluge: On Hyderabad floods

A deep monsoon depression over the west central Bay of Bengal, which weakened as it moved over Telangana, resulted in downpours over several districts in the State, severely affecting the city of Hyderabad as well. On October 13, the monthly average rainfall of Hyderabad for October (103.6 mm according to Skymet) was surpassed on a single day when 192 mm of rain fell. According to the India Meteorological Department, this is the highest rainfall for October recorded in Telangana’s capital since 1903. Such a high intensity downpour in a short span is bound to affect a densely populated urban area, and Hyderabad was no exception. At least 24 people were killed and several localities submerged and isolated following incessant rains and the overflowing of the city’s lakes. Other districts were badly affected too: roads damaged and irrigation tanks breached. The monsoon storm that never became a cyclone, has managed to cross the east (Andhra Pradesh) and west coasts (north Karnataka and Maharashtra) of India. This is rare and a rain-related disaster event that is difficult to plan for. Floods and deluges, like any other disaster, disproportionately affect the poor. Disaster management agencies have managed to limit the impact of the disaster as many of those marooned in submerged areas and flooded houses were rescued. But the extent of the damage and the turmoil show a lack of preparation and disaster mitigation, a problem that plagues most urban centres in the country Much of the damage was due to the overflowing of lakes — in particular, the Hussain Sagar Lake in the middle of the city and the breaching of storm water drains. Construction over lake beds and encroachments of drainage channels have been identified as problems that have exacerbated flooding and inundation in the city in the past (the deluge in August 2000, for example). But the little that has been done to unblock existing storm drains over the last decade has not been enough to handle the requirements of the city, which still depends upon an antiquated sewerage and drainage system. Hyderabad urgently needs to expand and remodel its drainage system. Besides lakes and canals, wetlands and watersheds play a vital role in absorbing excess rainfall, but regrettably, rapid urbanisation in the twin cities has resulted in the loss of a large portion of the wetlands. An analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment in 2016 revealed that 3,245 hectares of water bodies were lost in Hyderabad between 1989 and 2001. In the long term, the effects of flooding due to deluges can only be mitigated if urban planners take into account the hydro-geology of cities and ensure that construction, development and land occupation do not take place in a way that reduces the area of wetlands.