Centre for Science and Environment masthead Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Donate

Cse In News

Cse In News

Focus on on-ground implementation, Epca tells Delhi govt

The Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Prevention and Control Authority (Epca) on Monday said that the action plan launched by the Delhi government to combat winter pollution was welcome. The focus, however, needs to be on strict implementation of the proposed measures on the ground. Epca chief Bhure Lal said that any step to reduce pollution is welcome at a time when the city is also grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic. Both air pollution and the Covid infection affect the lungs, which could complicate the situation for those infected. Hence, extra effort was required to keep pollution levels from spiking this winter. The Epca is tasked by the Supreme Court with enforcing the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) that was formulated in 2017. Grap essentially entails measures to deal with different levels of pollution and usually comes into effect from October 15. It comprises measures such as sprinkling of water and mechanical sweeping of roads, ban on construction activities as well as on operation of diesel generator sets in Delhi-NCR, among others “The state government’s action plan is welcome. Even with Grap, it is the states have to ensure the implementation. This year with the pandemic, extra vigil is required on part of government agencies. What is important is the enforcement on the ground — be it curbing dust pollution or taking action against industries using unapproved fuels. It has to be ensured that citizens are also roped in the drives so that they feel responsible and comply with green norms,” said Lal. He added that the Epca will meet representatives from the governments of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan on Thursday to discuss implementation of Grap. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday launched a mega campaign against pollution. The action plan involves 10 government agencies — including municipal corporations — that will work on reducing the sources of pollution. The CM said that a war room will be created to monitor the action on the ground. Besides, an app — Green Delhi — will be launched to address pollution related complaints on a daily basis. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment, said that this year the state government must change its implementation strategy. “It is good that a plan is being discussed. It shows the government’s intent and seriousness on tackling the issue. The new steps, such as the creation of a war room and launching of a citizen app, will be successful only if it’s linked with implementation on the ground, which has been lacking in several sectors over the past years,” she said.

What is the future of UN?

The United Nations (UN) marked its 75th anniversary in September. This institution — set up after World War II in 1945 — came as the response to build a global consensus on peace and security. But when it met this year at its virtual General Assembly in New York — each leader sent taped messages — it marked the time when the world is most divided; most dysfunctional in terms of global cooperation; and, certainly, most filled with insecurity and hatred between people in nations and between nations. So, what then is the future of the UN? I ask this at a time when we know we have an interconnected and interdependent world, like never before. We have Covid-19 — the pandemic that has ravaged world economies and does not seem to be abating just yet. The fact is that if any part of the world remains infected, the virus will spread. So, we need global cooperation to tackle it; to reduce mortality; to build economic well-being; and, ultimately, to provide access to the promised vaccine to all. We need countries to work together. We know that. Then we have the other catastrophe knocking at our windows — climate emergency — a crisis that is testing the limits of national sovereignty. The fact is that we have a global atmosphere and all countries will emit into the airshed unless there are rules that apply to all. Rules require institutions that can regulate and enforce these on one and all — without prejudice to the more powerful. This is what we know we need. But let’s recognise that at the UN’s 75th anniversary the world is seeing tectonic shifts. First, the most crucial tools of democracy — the tools that should engender open societies with open access to information and knowledge and action — are doing the reverse: Making societies more closed; more starved of information/knowledge; and far more divisive and polarised. This is a fact. It is changing each one of us who live in these open democratic societies, and so, changing democracy as we know it, as we speak. A few years ago, I was concerned about the “bubble” we had built around us; how we were choosing to follow people who agreed with us; and, how we were choosing to see the news and read the views that we agreed with. The news platforms that brought us information were also limited in their worldview — the news that would bleed would lead; or, it would simply wipe out large parts of the world that were poor and, so, not the consuming classes. This is why we were becoming more intolerant. But within a span of a few years, even this has “evolved”. Netflix’s documentary The Social Dilemma explores how social media and internet companies use and manipulate us. Each click, hover, or view that we do on our screens is monitored so that our consuming, viewing, or commenting habits are tracked. This then allows for really sophisticated algorithms to work behind our screens to provide us with the world that we would like to see. Everyone works then with a different set of facts — there is no one reality then that is real. But what should really worry us is how this documentary and other research are now pointing to the fact that these social media-machines of our age thrive on polarising people; influencing us to build a narrative that is extreme and hateful. This gets eyeballs; it gets more likes; and, it raises more revenue for these companies. All this can be a stretch as we still would like to believe that we are in control of the machine. But it is a fact that these tools of democracy — created for the million Arab springs that would revolutionise our world — could well be the cause of its demise today. Second, undemocratic systems are gaining ground. Here I speak of China. The ultimate irony of the two key speeches at the 75th birthday of the UN was that of the president of the free world, Donald Trump, who spoke of “America first”. And Chinese President Xi Jinping became the unlikely champion of democratic values. So, in this not so brave new world, the China model of democracy, if you can call it that, will become the new norm. So, not only is democracy as we know it being corroded and weakened at its source, the alternative reality of what democracy will mean is already being presented to us through this leadership and regime change. It is not just China — many countries and many leaders across the world would like to ape the model of authoritarian growth; it is efficient and successful. The Chinese tell us how they have managed to tide over the Covid-19 crisis — it may have started in Wuhan, but now all is in control. So, even the virus listens to this model. This is where the UN’s 75th bash has brought the world to a full circle. We started with the end of the war, and today, we are at the beginning of a new one — only this time, it is a war against democracy as we know it.

Indian capital launches campaign to curb toxic air pollution

Authorities in New Delhi launched an anti-pollution campaign on Monday in an attempt to curb air pollution levels ahead of winter, when the capital is regularly covered in toxic haze, and warned that filthy air could make the coronavirus pandemic more dangerous. The capital's top elected leader, Arvind Kejriwal, said the government will start an anti-dust campaign, reduce smoke caused by agricultural burning and introduce a mobile application that will allow citizens to lodge photo-linked complaints against polluters. "Polluted air can be life-threatening in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both affect the lungs," Kejriwal said. Health experts say high air pollution levels over a prolonged period have compromised the disease resistance of people living in New Delhi, one of the world's most polluted cities, making them more susceptible to the coronavirus. Earlier studies have also suggested that high levels of air pollution can make viral infections more dangerous. It is estimated that more than a million Indians die every year because of air pollution-related diseases. New Delhi has had 285,103 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 5,510 deaths. Among the many Indian cities gasping for breath, New Delhi tops the list every year. Winters have become a time of health woes, when the city is covered with a toxic haze that obscures the sky and blocks sunlight. Pollution levels soar as farmers in neighboring agricultural regions set fire to clear their land after harvests and prepare for the next crop season. Vehicle and industrial emissions, pollutants from firecrackers linked to festivals, and construction dust also sharply increase in winter, exacerbating the public health crisis. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director at the New Delhi-based group Centre for Science and Environment and an air pollution expert, said the causes of the capital's poor air quality are well known, as are the actions needed to combat it. But she said the steps needed to improve air quality aren't being carried out at the right scale. "It isn't rocket science," Roychowdhury said. The national capital has often experimented with limiting the number of cars on the road, using large anti-smog guns and halting construction activity. But the steps have had little effect because neighboring state governments have failed to cooperate. In November 2019, New Delhi was blanketed in a dark yellow haze for several days and air pollution hit record high levels, forcing schools to close and flights to be diverted.

New Delhi Introduces Campaign to Curb Air Pollution Ahead of Winter

In winter, India’s capital is regularly covered in toxic haze. Officials warned that filthy air could make the coronavirus pandemic more dangerous. NEW DELHI — Officials in India’s capital, New Delhi, have introduced an antipollution campaign in an attempt to curb air pollution ahead of winter, when the city is regularly covered in toxic haze. They warned that filthy air could make the coronavirus pandemic more dangerous. The capital’s top elected leader, Arvind Kejriwal, said the government would start an anti-dust campaign, reduce smoke caused by agricultural burning and introduce a mobile app to allow citizens to lodge photo-linked complaints against people suspected of polluting. “Polluted air can be life-threatening in view of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Mr. Kejriwal said. He added, “Both affect the lungs.” Studies have suggested that high levels of air pollution can make viral infections more dangerous. Health experts say high air pollution levels over a prolonged period have compromised the disease resistance of people living in New Delhi, one of the world’s most polluted cities, making them more susceptible to the coronavirus. New Delhi has had about 285,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including about 5,500 deaths. More than a million Indians are estimated to die every year because of air pollution related diseases. Among the many cities in India gasping for breath, New Delhi tops the list every year. Winters have become a time of health woes, when the city is covered with a toxic haze that obscures the sky and blocks sunlight. Pollution levels soar as farmers in neighboring agricultural regions set fires to clear their land after harvests and to prepare for the next crop season. Vehicle and industrial emissions, pollutants from firecrackers linked to festivals and construction dust also sharply increase in winter, exacerbating the public health crisis. Anumita Roychowdhury, an air pollution expert and the executive director at the New Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment, said the causes of the capital’s poor air quality were well known, as were the actions needed to combat it. But Ms. Roychowdhury said the steps needed to improve air quality were not being carried out at the right scale. The new antipollution campaign would not be the capital’s first. It has experimented with limiting the number of cars on the road, deployed large anti-smog guns and halted construction activity. But the steps have had little effect because neighboring state governments have not cooperated. Last November, New Delhi was blanketed in a dark yellow haze for several days and air pollution hit record levels, forcing schools to close and flights to be diverted.

Kerala: Earth day network honors Trivandrum corporation

Earth day network, the worldwide organiser of Earth day has conferred the Earth day network star municipal leadership award on Thiruvananthapuram city corporation. The award has been announced in recognition of environment-friendly initiatives of city corporation especially decentralised waste management system that engages self-help and other volunteer groups, the communication from Earth Day network read. The city corporation has been implementing My city beautiful city campaign since the closure of centralised waste treatment plant at Vilappilsala in 2011. The city corporation had earlier received honors from GAIA’s zero waste city award and has won Four leaves award instituted by centre for science and environment.

Just eight satisfactory air days in Delhi: Why September 2020 was worse than last 2 years

NEW DELHI: Delhi recorded only eight “satisfactory” air quality days and 22 “moderate” ones this September, with a monthly average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 118. An analysis of the September data of the last three years showed that there were fewer “satisfactory” air days this year than in the last two years, with a higher average AQI level as well. Track the pollution level in your city In September 2019, Delhi enjoyed 19 “satisfactory” and 11 “moderate” air quality days, with an average AQI of 98. However, the capital recorded 13 “satisfactory”, 16 “moderate” air quality days along with one “poor” air day in the same month in 2018. The average AQI of September 2018 was 112. An AQI reading of 50 or below is classified as “good”, readings between 51 and 100 fall in the “satisfactory” category and those between 101 and 200 are classified as “moderate”. “Poor” air ranges from 201 to 300, “very poor” from 301 to 400 and “severe” from 401 to 500. Experts said the average AQI of September was better in 2019 mainly due to weather conditions. Dipankar Saha, former head at CPCB’s air laboratory, said, “As there was low pressure formation in Bay of Bengal, the air didn’t flow from south to north. The stagnation in the air increased the concentration of pollutants in the air and hence, AQI level went up this year in September.” Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said, “September is a transition phase between monsoon and winter and weather has a role to play. The air was cleaner in September 2019 and 2018 as the city received better rain as compared with this time.” She added, “The pollution level is rising due to unlocking phases. Though public vehicles are limited, locals are using private vehicles. Waste burning has also been observed.” However, the city this year recorded a better AQI from January to August as compared with 2019. The period from March to July was primarily impacted by the lockdown, which saw a considerable drop in air pollution. January, February and August have all been significantly cleaner than 2019, too. In fact, August this year has been the cleanest month since the AQI was launched in April 2015, with four ‘good’ air days recorded and an average AQI of just 64.

Why we need to remember Gandhi in order to make our cities better

‘Gandhi and Cities’ was the paradoxical title of a webinar organised by the INHAF Habitat Forum on October 1st. I say paradoxixal because it discussed deeply modern, urban worries and concerns, with reference to a freedom fighter who primarily explored rural landscapes and opposed capitalism and industrialisation. Yet, most of Gandhi’s life was lived in urbanscapes. He had a “tender love” for London, said Dr Tridip Suhrud, Provost of CEPT (Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology) University, in his introductory speech. But how is Gandhi relevant to our cities today? According to the first speaker, Ela Bhatt, activist and founder of SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association), just thinking about Gandhi is good enough to plan better cities and put his ideas into action. Delinking of ‘urban’ and ‘rural’ issues, as has been the practice for ages, is misleading and divisive, said Ela. A town is more rural than urban, she feels, due to its many migrants. City structures, layouts and services are often fashioned on rural templates, although urban architecture and design stand out. Speaking of slums as an integral part of the city, she said that they must not be considered problems, but rather solutions for forsaken people and a unit or form of self-rule. Cities must aspire to improve the situations of all citizens, their income, access to basic services and jobs and their social status. She argued that Gandhiji always talked of citizens, not rural or urban dwellers. So how can we rethink cities, when we have not done the right thinking about them in the first place? Ela was followed by historian Ramachandra Guha, who began by calling out the fallacy in Gandhiji’s assertion that “India lives in her villages.” India has also always lived in her cities, from the fabled cities of Hastinapura and Indraprastha to medieval Delhi and Agra, he quipped. Gandhi himself was shaped and made by cities. In the 1930s, Gandhi had said that the blood of the villages is the edifice on which the cities are built. However, cities can also be emancipatory, as Babasaheb Ambedkar found for Dalits, said Guha. London, Ramachandra pointed out, opened Gandhi’s mind and developed his deep, ethical understanding of egalitarianism and non-violence. He lived with the English, the Christians and Muslims in London. In Durban, he slept under the same roof with a Muslim, in Johannesburg he got funded by a Parsi, Rustom. He understood the diversity of India only through diaspora. Cities made him universal, not just a parochial, successful ‘baniya’. They emancipated him in a cultural, ethical, religious, linguistic, religious, moral sense. What Gandhi gave back to these cities was also immense. He invented the Satyagraha concept in Johannesburg, 1906 and pioneered the Ahmedabad mill workers’ protest in 1918. The first major movement was in Bombay, 1919, against the Rowlatt Act. The very concept of Satyagraha was conceived, thought out and articulated in cities. He made his epic fasts post Partition in Delhi and Kolkata and applied the ideas of pluralism, ethics and tolerance to the cities. The mature Gandhi of the late 1920s and after forbade industrialisation. The broader environmentalism he harboured looked at concepts of decentralisation and self-sustainability. However, it was his compatriot Patrick Geddes, also born in October 2, 1854, whose ideas of Gandhian cities would be more illuminating than Gandhi’s, concluded Guha. Sunita Narain, Director-General, Centre for Science and Environment, said that while Gandhi’s vision of a city is not clear, modern cities desperately need him, as we are drowning in garbage and the spit of our cars. Our model is most resource and capital intensive, using large swathes of land, water and forests and discharging a large amount of waste. Sunita rued that we do not have the resources to upgrade our cities for all. While less than 10% of the people in Mumbai drive cars and occupy more than 90% of the roads, about 26% of Delhi is under roads and flyovers. Construction activity robs people of the right to walk or even cross roads safely, or breathe. While rivers have become nullahs, we need to understand the inequity in cities to explain its shit flow. You cannot clean your rivers unless you have an affordable sewage management system and sanitation for all. We have no dream or vision of a city, no Gandhi to turn to, to ask how that city should be in order to be inclusive, yet diverse. With COVID, the digital divide has made the socio-economic divide starker. We need to reclaim public spaces and design it for the poorest of all; we need a mobility system that is modern enough for the privileged, yet affordable for the poorest, some of whom presently cannot even ride a bus. Gandhian values of frugality, equity and environment become extremely important if we want to make cities truly livable and inclusive.

EPCA opposes paying farmers for not burning paddy stubble

Paying farmers to manage paddy stubble as an incentive for not burning it is not advisable and could be a “perverse incentive”, the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) said in a report submitted to the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The effort by Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh must be to ensure that farmers have easy and affordable access to stubble management machines, which provide an alternative to crop residue burning, said the report by the Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA). Each year at the start of winter, paddy refuse is set on fire by farmers, primarily in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh so as prepare their fields quickly before sowing the wheat crop. This, along with contributing factors such as low temperatures and wind direction, leads to high pollution levels in Delhi and nearby areas. EPCA’s submission moves away from a directive by the apex court in November last year to the three States, to pay Rs 100 per quintal of paddy crop to farmers as an incentive for not burning the crop stubble. EPCA member Sunita Narain told The Indian Express, “There should be deterrence but not a perverse incentive. We don’t believe the Rs 100 top up over the MSP (minimum support price) is a good idea — that you would give this to them if they don’t burn the stubble. That works against the polluter pays principle.” “There are other ways to pay farmers, which is why we have said the machines should be made available for free to those who can’t afford them. There is also the option of buying the stubble (for conversion into CNG or bio-gas),” said Narain, who is also the director general of the Centre for Science and Environment. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has been pressing the Central government to give the Rs 100 per quintal incentive to farmers. Punjab chief secretary Vini Mahajan also said earlier this month that in the absence of this support, the State was left to fight the stubble burning issue on its own. An estimated 9.8 million tonnes of crop residue was burned in the State last year, in over 50,000 farm fires. This year Punjab, so far the largest stubble burning State, has provided nearly 51,000 stubble management machines — close to 17,500 to individual farmers at a subsidy of 50%, and over 33,000 to Custom Hiring Centres at a subsidy of 80%. While stubble burning is not the only cause of air pollution during winters in the northern Gangetic plains, including Delhi, there is “no doubt” that transport of pollutants from these fires is the tipping point for making winter’s unhealthy air quality into a public health emergency, the EPCA report states. However, Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has said in an action plan submitted to the Supreme Court that the incentive for not burning the stubble should be provided by State governments from their own budgets, if it is necessary. In three states After the apex court’s directive in November, Punjab paid incentives worth Rs 28.51 crore to over 31,000 farmers in 2019. However, this year the government, as per the EPCA report, has sought funds from the Centre and said it would not be able to pay this on their own. While Uttar Pradesh has no plans for providing the incentive, Haryana has allocated Rs 301 crore for it this year. Last year nearly 4,000 farmers in the State were provided this incentive totalling Rs 1.63 crore. EPCA chairman Bhure Lal has also asked for clarity from Punjab and Haryana on the price being charged to small and marginal farmers for using stubble management machines, being provided to them through Custom Hiring Centres and village panchayats.

Delhi Air Pollution: दिल्ली-NCR में 15 अक्टूबर से लागू होगा ग्रेप, जानें इससे आप पर क्या पड़ेगा असर

नई दिल्ली, जागरण संवाददाता। भले ही इस समय दिल्ली-एनसीआर की हवा सामान्य श्रेणी में चल रही हो, लेकिन आने वाले दिनों में यह खराब हो सकती है। इस स्थिति से निपटने के लिए 15 अक्टूबर से ग्रेडेड रिस्पांस एक्शन प्लान (ग्रेप) लागू किया जा रहा है। पर्यावरण संरक्षण एवं प्रदूषण नियंत्रण प्राधिकरण (ईपीसीए) जल्द ही दिल्ली, हरियाणा, उत्तर प्रदेश, राजस्थान और स्थानीय निकायों के साथ बैठक करेगा। बैठक में प्रदूषण से जंग के लिए की जा रही तैयारियों पर चर्चा के अलावा कुछ नए प्रतिबंधों को लेकर भी सुझाव रखे जाएंगे।