Deepender Hooda to bring private member's bill to tackle air pollution

Clean air is a shared responsibility, which we owe to our children and future generations, says the Congress MP

Congress Lok Sabha member Deepender Singh Hooda plans to bring a private members’ Bill, the ‘Right to Clean Air’ Bill, in the upcoming winter session of Parliament. Moved by the difficulty in breathing that his year-old son and children across the region have faced because of pollution, Hooda has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to constitute a committee propose measures to fight air pollution.

Hooda, a Member of Parliament from Rohtak, also plans to start an online petition on the issue. In his letter to the PM, Hooda has suggested that Modi constitute a committee consisting of chief ministers of north Indian states that are affected by air pollution. He has suggested the PM should head the committee. He said the committee should have enough finances at its disposal, but the poor farmer should not be made a scapegoat.

In the letter, Hooda has said that clean air is a shared responsibility, which we owe to our children and future generations. Hooda is the only Opposition member in the 19 Lok Sabha seats comprising the National Capital Region, or NCR.

“If we can have the Right to Food Act and Right to Education Act, why can’t we have a Right to Clean Air Act,” Hooda asked. He said it was unfortunate, if media reports on the subject were correct, that funds for the clean energy cess have been diverted to meet goods and services tax (GST) shortfalls.