Experts urge Delhi govt to release IIT-K report on air quality

Nearly two months after its submission, the AAP government is yet to release the IIT-Kanpur report on Delhi's air quality, product of a two-year-long comprehensive study, despite senior officials and green experts arguing for it to be made public.
The report, among its other findings, identifies 'road dust' as the biggest source of particulate matter, pegging it at 38 per cent, and stresses almost one third of the levels of PM 2.5 and PM 10 can be attributed to emissions from outside Delhi.
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has shared few details of the 'Source Apportionment Study'.
It says vehicular emissions contribute to around 25 per cent of the total level of pollutants during winters, which goes down to 9 per cent in the summer season. The Sheila Dikshit government had commissioned the study.

The government, in a major intervention, decided to implement the 'odd-even' car rationing scheme from January 1, which has restricted the plying of four-wheelers in the city to every alternate day.
Experts said that while the draft report does not absolve vehicles completely, it lists a number of other sources as originators of pollutants.

"It is the most latest assessment of air quality and releasing it will only help in understanding the conditions better. The government should expeditiously finalise the draft report and release it," CSE's Anumita Roychowdhary said.
Top officials had suggested, last month itself, to put the report, "that runs over 300 pages", in the public domain so that a lid could be put over "kite flying" on its findings, which the government itself referred to recently.

"The concerned Minister has been suggested repeatedly that the report be made public in its entirety so that it can also get enriched with public feedback," sources said.
The government, in an official statement, recently referred to "speculations" in sections of the media with regards to the report and claimed that "lots of erroneous interpretations have also been made".
When asked, government officials said it will be released for the "public as and when required" and that it has "shared the synopsis in any case."
The report has found "very high pollution" in the towns
of NCR region including Noida, Faridabad, and Gaziabad, areas otherwise not monitored well by the official monitoring agencies.

It noted that the Badarpur power plant, found to be one of the most "polluting plants in the country" should be shut during the winter months. But the government has recently allowed one 210 MW unit of the plant to function.
"It is ironical that Delhi remains dependant on Badarpur which is among the most inefficient plants in the country, but the gas-based plant in Bawana in Delhi which is the cleanest plant remains constrained by gas supply," CSE said.
The report underscores that secondary particles such as nitrates and sulphates, products of vehicle exhaust, are around 30 per cent in the winter months and 15 per cent during summer.

"It offers very important insights on secondary particulate matters which in a way establishes that vehicles add to the level of pollutants despite not being the single biggest source," Roy Chowdhary said.
"Secondary particles are formed once gases such as SO2, NO2 are released in the air. Through atmospheric changes they turn into particles and add to the volume of suspended particulate matters," she explained.
The draft report, identifies the sources of suspended particulate matter PM 2.5, namely road dust (38 per cent), vehicles (20 per cent), domestic fuel burning (12 per cent) and industrial point sources (11 per cent).

It has also found variation in contribution of different pollution sources in winter and summer months. During winter, vehicles contribute to 25 per cent of PM 2.5 emissions, 26 per cent comes from biomass burning, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) burning 9 per cent.
While during summer, coal and flyash contribute to 26 per cent of PM 2.5, soil and road dust 27 per cent, biomass burning 12 per cent, vehicles 9 per cent.
It also recommends a switch to Euro VI emission compliant petrol and diesel. Incidentally, the city government announced its decision to adopt Euro VI by 2017 after receiving the report.

Euro IV fuels, currently in force in major cities, contain 50 parts per million (ppm) sulphur, while Euro VI stipulates 10 ppm sulphur. BS IV and BS VI are equivalents to the corresponding Euro fuels.