Indian studies have not shown correlation between shortening of life and pollution: Javadekar

Union Minister for Environment and Forest Prakash Javadekar on Friday said that the studies in India have not shown a direct correlation between shortening of life and pollution.

The minister told Lok Sabha that the government authorities have discussed the issue of pollution in Delhi and other parts of the country and proactive steps were being taken to mitigate vehicular, industrial, biomass and dust pollution.

The minister, who was answering a query about life expectancy Indians being shortened by 4.3 years due to environmental pollution, said efforts of the government to curb pollution were bearing fruits.

The minister said fear psychosis should not be created among people because the problem of pollution was prevalent all over the globe.

"Let me clarify that such studies carried out by various institutes may not be based on first-generation data. On secondary data, they interpolate, extrapolate, and then come out with conclusions based on a model study. So, let us not create a fear psychosis among people because the pollution problem is all over the globe," he said.

He said there is pollution due to different factors in European and US cities.

"There is no direct correlation as per the studies we have conducted. The studies conducted in India have not shown a direct correlation of shortening of life because of pollution," he said .