कई जानकार ये कह रहे हैं कि सर्दियां बढ़ने के बाद भारत में कोरोना वायरस का ख़तरा और बढ़ सकता है. तो क्या इस डबल ख़तरे से बचाने की कोई तैयारी हो रही है? यही जानने के लिए बीबीसी संवाददाता जुगल पुरोहित ने बात की पर्यावरणविद् सुनीता नारायण से.
NEW DELHI: With 65% of India’s coalfired thermal power plants yet to make significant progress to meet environmental norms by the deadline of 2022, it has become imperative to review and restrategise to push the sector towards implementation. A new analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has said that a new system of preferential treatment for cleaner plants and deterrence mechanisms for the laggards have to be brought into effect urgently to meet the deadline. During the webinar titled “Meeting emission norms: Working paper on penalty and incentive mechanisms for coal-based power plants”, four CSE reports were released on Wednesday. CSE reports state that this sector accounts for 80% of mercury, 45% of sulphur dioxide and 30% of nitrogen oxide emissions from all industries. “Its water use equals half of India’s total domestic water needs. The fly ash generation has jumped up 70% between 2009-10 and 2018-19. The sector also accounts for one-third of total greenhouse gas emissions.” Sunita Narain, director general, CSE said, “The best strategy in the current scenario will be preferential scheduling of electricity from cleaner power stations. We propose that along with renewable energy or ‘must-run’ plants, a new category of clean coal power plants should be included as ‘First-run’/’Priority-run’ plants.” The CSE report proposed that this new category could include all coal-based thermal power plants, which were headed towards meeting the new environmental norms by 2022. Nivit K Yadav, programme director, industrial pollution, CSE, said, “These first-run power stations should be ranked and power procured from them on priority. Fixed charges should also be reimbursed to them. This can serve as an incentive to motivate other power stations.”
Cleaner power is essential in today’s climate-stressed world and power stations that are making sincere efforts to meet the norms need to be encouraged, according to a new analysis done by the Centre of Science and Environment (CSE). “With 65% of India’s coal-fired thermal power plants not moving to meet environmental norms by the deadline of 2022, it has become imperative to review and re-strategise to push the sector towards implementation. And to do this, a new system of preferential treatment for cleaner plants and deterrence mechanisms for the laggards has to be brought into effect urgently,” finds the analysis released at a high-powered webinar, “Power to the norms: Strategies to encourage coal-based thermal power plants to meet environmental norms.” held on Wednesday. “India needs affordable energy for all its citizens. Hence, it cannot wish away coalbased thermal power plants – these plants are a reality for us. But we must strive to reduce our dependence on coal, and we need to ensure that coal-based thermal power plants are as clean as possible. Only then can we meet the twin challenges of clean air and climate change,” said CSE director general Sunita Narain. The webinar had a panel consisting of Bibek Debroy, chairman, economic advisory council to the Prime Minister, Sanjiv N Sahai, secretary, Union ministry of power, Gurdeep Singh, chairperson and managing director, NTPC Ltd, and Anil Sardana, managing director and chief executive officer, Adani Transmission Ltd. The CSE reports paint a grim picture of the pollution that coal-based power plants are responsible for. “The sector accounts for 80% of mercury, 45%t of sulphur dioxide, and 30% of nitrogen oxide emissions from all industries. Its water use equals half of India’s total domestic water needs. The fly ash generated by these plants is a major challenge – generation has jumped up 70% between 2009-10 and 2018-19. The sector also accounts for one-third of total greenhouse gas emissions,” it said. The CSE report has found that the current deterrence mechanism in place for enforcing implementation has loopholes and will not serve as an effective check against non-compliance. “Our research tells us that the best strategy in the current scenario would be preferential scheduling of electricity from cleaner power stations. We propose that along with renewable energy or ‘must-run’ plants, a new category of clean coal power plants should be included as ‘Firstrun’/’Priority-run’ plants,” said Narain. “The report proposes that this new category could include all coal-based thermal power plants which are headed towards meeting the new environmental norms by 2022 – those power stations which meet the norms should be run at full load, and all non-complying plants should be kept at the bottom of the merit order dispatch,” said the report. CSE estimates that the ‘first-run’ concept, if implemented, can have significant impacts. To begin with, it would mean one-third of the electricity consumed in India can be sourced from cleaner power stations. Among Indian states, Maharashtra has been found to have the highest number of contracts with cleaner coal-fired power plants (6,000MW of clean power capacity). In terms of percentage of total contracts with cleaner coal-based power stations, Himachal Pradesh tops the chart with 65%; West Bengal ranks the lowest with 1% “Any delay in implementation of the norms would mean a mockery of the government and the Supreme Court’s efforts to reduce pollution from this sector. Hard actions, therefore, are needed at this juncture to push power stations towards compliance,” she added.
In a short period of eight-ten months, the coronavirus pandemic has changed the world and impacted our lives in ways that were largely unimaginable. Be it the collapsing world economy, the uncertain job market, the fragility of healthcare system, the migrant workers' crisis, or the tens of other challenges that pandemic-induced lockdown brought in its wake. The Covid-19 pandemic disruption has impacted the world in more than one ways. Now as countries slowly start planning to rebuild their economies, create jobs and strengthen public infrastructure, they have a unique opportunity to make intelligent course corrections in their development approach. There lies an opportunity before them to walk away from being a fossil-fuel dependent economy to one that embraces energy efficiency, and ensure that their development journey hereafter is sustainable, affordable and environment friendly. Being a developing and aspiring country that is rapidly urbanising, India has one of highest rates of construction activities and the real-estate sector has seen massive growth in recent decades. In 2017, the Niti Aayog estimated that India was building close to 3 lakh square feet of commercial floor space every day. The next two-three decades will be crucial for India as it is set to embark upon a construction spree to meet the infrastructural requirements of its gigantic population. It is estimated that by 2030, 40 per cent of Indian population would be living in cities and contributing 75 per cent to the GDP. In the words of Niti Aayog, India will see "one of the largest commercial and residential building construction boom" over the next two decades. India is currently at an "inflection point" where 40 per cent of the commercial building stock that will emerge in the next 20 years, is yet to be built, it says. The global urban swell On the global scale too, a similar picture is likely to unfold, with India being an important centre. The United Nations (UN) estimates that the share of global population living in urban centres would increase from 55 per cent (in 2018) to 68 per cent by 2050. In other words, every two out of three people would be living in a city or town in next 30 years. Much of this urbanisation (90 per cent) will happen in Asia and Africa. The UN estimates that the increase in urban population over the next 30 years will be "highly concentrated" in a just a handful of countries -- India, Nigeria and China. "By 2050, it is projected that India will have added 416 million urban dwellers, China 255 million and Nigeria 189 million." This projection for India can also be understood from the fact that it currently has the largest rural population (893 million), followed by China (578 million). As rural-urban migration continues in India (and increases in the post-pandemic phase due to limited economic avenues in villages), this large rural population is seen as the potential end user of buildings that will be constructed over the next 20-30 years. However, though urbanisation is set to increase, it is unlikely to be concentrated in just a handful of megacities. Even at present, much of the urban population lives in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities hosting population of less than 1 million. According to a 2018 report prepared by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, some of the fastest-growing urban agglomerations in the world are cities that have fewer than 1 million inhabitants, and many of them are located in Asia and Africa. The report says nearly 50 per cent of the global urban population resides in smaller agglomerations with population of less than 5 lakh. As the global urbanisation spree continues, this mushrooming of smaller urban centres and they becoming home to urban populations is likely to increase further, especially in a country like India. The central government is giving a push to urbanisation with projects like developing 100 'smart cities' and urban renewal mission. This policy push is likely to see India's urban population get further dispersed even though giant urban clusters such as Delhi, Greater Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, and others may continue to swell. What further pushes the expansion of buildings and construction sector in India, are government-funded affordable housing schemes including the PM Awas Yojana and the Rajiv Awas Yojana. Why is this then a critical stage? The fact that 40 per cent of buildings that will be in place in the next 20 years, are yet to be constructed, makes it important that the development policies India adopts now are sound and far-sighted. These yet-to-be-constructed buildings will end up determining India's future energy requirements in the residential sector, and the amount of burden it puts on individuals and governments. There is no doubt that the sudden halt in business and construction activity, triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic has severely disrupted the economy in general and the building sector in particular. But at the same time, this halt now provides the government and private sector to revisit their approach towards buildings and make them sustainable and affordable, especially in the utilisation stage i.e. when people start living in them. Lessons from lockdown The long lockdown period (March to May) has shown us that buildings can no longer be treated just as an assimilation of four walls with a roof under which people sleep and dine. Along with providing lodging, it is important that our buildings are designed in a manner that makes them comfortable and energy efficient. During the lockdown, people, especially in cities, were strictly confined to their homes as outdoor movement got restricted to emergency needs. As a result, the overall electricity consumption in the residential sector rose sharply in comparison to the same period in 2019. Since the lockdown coincided with summer months (April-May), much of this electricity demand was for thermal comfort. In its analysis of the electricity demand in Delhi during the lockdown, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a New Delhi-based environmental think tank, found that even though the lockdown brought economic activities to a standstill, Delhi's electricity consumption remained largely unaltered. Delhi's hunger for electricity remained high despite an exodus of 7-8 lakh migrants from the city. It means the city's voracious appetite for electricity is almost entirely fueled by its rich. - Centre for Science and Environment CSE added that the experience of lockdown exposes "how badly designed, heat-trapping buildings" kept Delhi's residential electricity demand to near normal levels even during the harsh lockdown. It said much of this demand was driven by the heat stress and cooling demand in houses. "Higher heat stress this summer combined with thermal discomfort in poorly designed buildings and increased dependence on air conditioning upset the energy budget. Every degree rise in heat index resulted in 187 MW increase in electricity demand during lockdown - this was 6 per cent higher than in 2019," the CSE report said. The lockdown was an experience that exemplified how most urban dwellings lack infrastructural design that would ensure optimum daytime natural lighting, ventilation and thermal comfort. In absence of an intelligent design approach that is aimed at energy efficiency, the cost of living in such buildings escalates in the long run. When buildings aren't designed to provide quality living experience, people become completely dependent on appliances to attain thermal comfort (air-conditioning/heating) and even basic daytime lighting and ventilation. Much of this can otherwise be achieved naturally if the building is designed properly. Over dependence on appliances makes living in these buildings expensive as it increases energy consumption, which in turn means paying higher power bills. Meanwhile, as the world fights against, several scientific studies have now suggested that ventilated and properly lit rooms are better equipped to fight Covid-19 and minimise the chance of contracting coronavirus infection. Experts have advised that air-conditioners should be run on 'fresh air' mode in both homes and cars. Several hospitals had to switch off their air-conditioners in rooms that had no natural ventilation, thus underlying the significance of proper building design. Further, it is well evidenced now that the buildings and construction sector is a major energy guzzler besides being a dominant source of CO2 emissions. In India, central government's data suggests that buildings account for 30 per cent of the country's total electricity consumption. In the global scenario, this sector accounts for about 40 per cent of all CO2 emissions and consumes about 36 per cent electricity. What can be done? In May, the central government announced a stimulus package worth Rs 20 lakh crore aimed at boosting the economy, creating jobs and ushering demand. As part of this package, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government would incentivise the private and public sector to construct Affordable Rental Housing Complexes for migrant workers and urban poor in cities. The government also announced that it would facilitate investment worth Rs 70,000 crore to boost housing sector for the middle-income category to create demand and jobs. For the agriculture sector, the stimulus package announced Rs 1 lakh crore to develope cold chains and post-harvest management infrastructure across the country. Since all of these large-scale constructions are yet to begin, it is important that they are designed to maximise energy efficiency and are powered by renewable energy as far as possible. In absence of such interventions, these cold storage units and urban accommodations are bound to end up becoming energy guzzlers and a liability on the country. Besides, buildings of nearly 58 per cent houses, sanctioned under the PM Awas Yojana (Urban), are at various stages of construction. In a written reply to Parliament on July 18, 2019, the Union Ministry for Housing and Urban Affairs said states and UTs have placed a demand of around 1.12 crore houses under this scheme. Of this, 88,68,861 units have been sanctioned. Among the sanctioned lot, 26.13 lakh houses have been completed, 48.37 lakh are in construction stage, and work on the remaining 9.17 lakh houses is yet to begin. If we add to this 23.31 lakh houses for which states/UTs have placed demands but are yet to be sanctioned, the number of houses where work is yet to start rises to 32.48 lakh houses. What will happen if we don't design smart? With millions of housing units set to be built over the next 20-30 years in India, if we fail to design them in a manner that ensures thermal comfort, natural lighting and ventilation, the country's electricity demand would rise exponentially. Its cascading effect will be felt at three levels: Individuals: If your house is not well-designed and if you are using old energy inefficient appliances, be ready to pay hefty power bills. Government: With millions of energy inefficient buildings constructed, the overall power demand is set to increase and nullify the gains made elsewhere (solar,wind and other renewable sources of energy). The government will be forced to pump in more resources to generate electricity to meet the hiked demand, something that could be avoided. Climate change: With a bulk of power in India still being generated by burning coal, the scenario is unlikely to change overnight. An increased power demand over the next decades would mean more coal will have to be extracted and burnt to generate power. The end result would be a further increase in CO2 emissions, first from the coal-powered thermal plants, and then from the inefficiently built buildings and the appliances used in them. All of this will increase our carbon footprints and make achievement of Sustainable Development Goals impossible. According to the Niti Aayog's 2017 estimates, if India carries on with the current 'business as usual' approach, the energy inefficient building stock in the next 20-30 years would increase the power demand of the residential sector by nearly eight times. However, if we aggressively adopt an energy efficient approach, this demand would rise by three to five times. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency too estimates that energy demand in buildings can be cut down by up to 40 per cent if we design them better and use energy efficient appliances.
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.
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.
The fourth day of Navratri is dedicated to the worship of Maa Kushmanda. Maa Kushmanda is believed to be the creative power of the universe. She is associated with the endowment of vegetation on earth. On this day, let us celebrate the contribution of five women who have played a significant role in environment and biodiversity conservation. Tulsi Gowda Tulsi Gowda is more popularly known as “Encyclopedia of Forest” for her vast knowledge about various trees and plants. She has singlehandedly planted one lakh trees in Karnataka. Gowda, born in a poor tribal family, started her journey in the 60s by planting one sapling after another. She is 72 years old today but when people way younger than her fail to do anything to arrest the effects of climate change, she is still as busy as she was six decades ago. Every year she plants and nurtures thousands of trees. Her aim in life is to inspire the young generation to care for our forests. Recognising her contribution to the planet, on 26th January 2020, the Government of India conferred Tulasi Gowda with the prestigious Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India on India’s 71st Republic Day. Sunita Narain Sunita Narain is an environmentalist and a political activist. She is also a major proponent of the Green concept of sustainable development. Narain is director-general of the research institute the Centre for Science and Environment and Society for Environmental Communications. She also serves as an editor of the fortnightly magazine, Down To Earth. Narain began her work in the 1980s along with another prominent environmentalist – Anil Agarwal, and co-edited State of India’s environment report. After the loss of tigers in Sariska Tiger Reserve, Sunita chaired the Tiger Task Force for conservation in 2005. She is a member of the Prime Minister’s Council for Climate Change and National Ganga River Basin Authority. Sunita has also been awarded the Padma Shri for her contribution towards the environment research and conservation. Vandana Shiva Vandana Shiva is founder of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, an independent research organisation that researches ecological and social issues. She is an eco-rights activist whose campaign against genetically modified seeds and protection of native seeds led to the formation of ‘Navdanya’. Navdanya is a national movement to protect the diversity and integrity of living resources, especially native seeds. Shiva has helped set up 122 community seed banks and trained farmers in seed sovereignty, food sovereignty, and sustainable agriculture. She is a fierce opposer of globalisation and is the face for the anti-GMO movement across the world. She was also recognised by TIME as environmental heroin in 2003. Also, she has received the Right Livelihood Award in 1993 and the 2010 Sydney Peace Prize. Maneka Gandhi Maneka Sanjay Gandhi is a politician, animal rights activist, and environmentalist. Her defence of the environment has earned her numerous international awards. In 1995 she was appointed chairwoman of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals. Under her direction, CPCSEA members carried unannounced inspections of laboratories where animals are used for scientific research were conducted. Three years earlier, in 1992, she founded the organization People For Animals, the largest association for animal rights in India. Gandhi has filed Public Interest Litigations that have achieved the replacement of the municipal killing of homeless dogs with a sterilisation programme, the unregulated sale of airguns and a ban on mobile or travelling zoos. She currently chairs the Jury of International Energy Globe Foundation which meets annually in Austria to award the best environmental innovations of the year. She is also a member of the Euro solar Board and the Wuppertal Institute, Germany. Dia Mirza Dia Mirza is a renowned model, filmmaker, actress and an activist. As an activist, Mirza has contributed her efforts in the field of social change, conservation and environment. She has been the face of many pivotal environmental campaigns across India including the use of biodegradable sanitary pads, eco-friendly detergents among others. She has also worked towards the conservation of wildlife. Mirza is currently serving as a Goodwill Ambassador with the United Nations Environment to further spread the message on priority areas including clean air, clean seas, wildlife protection and climate change.
NDTV24x7 : CSE Spokes person : Anumita RoyChowdhury Program Name - News 21-Oct-2020 - 11:03:17 In conversation with Anumita RoyChowdhary over Air pollution
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.
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.
Dr Sunita Narain, Director General CSE Panel Discussion over #Modernat100.
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.”
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.
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.
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
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.