ICMR should study air pollution, suggest ways to handle effects: Parl panel

A Parliamentary Committee has recommended the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) come up with an effective plan to study more about the ill-effects of air pollution and suggest ways to counter its adverse effects. 

In its report presented in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, the department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare said air pollution was thought of as a threat in a handful of big cities like Delhi earlier. "But now, even small towns are affected." It recommended formulating a policy or programme keeping in view the findings of "The impact of air pollution on deaths, disease burden, and life expectancy across the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017". 

The committee reckoned air pollution as a health hazard that has emerged as a major challenge. In the report, the panel stated that the efforts initiated by ICMR to study the health implications of air pollution are taken note of. 

"However, it is apparent that we have rather unchartered paths to travel in this direction. Earlier, air pollution was thought of as a threat in a handful of big cities like Delhi. But now, even small towns are affected," it said. 

The committee underlined that the controlling air pollution warrants multi-agency involvement and needs intervention to ensure interdepartmental/organisational coordination through an institutionalised structure. 

"The Committee recommends that DHR-ICMR (Department of Health Research)should come up with an effective plan to research more about the ill effects of air pollution and make available ways to counter its adverse effects," the panel said, stating it must be intimated about the action taken in this regard. 

The committee also took into consideration the observation of the Emission Gap Report 2020 UN Environment Programme which has observed that India has seen over 6 per cent more Green House Gas Emission than previous year. 

"The committee, therefore, feels that it is high time for India to establish an Environmental Health Regulatory Agency for Comprehensive and Cohesive Environmental Governance to control detrimental health effects of exposure to air, water and soil pollutants to prevent wide range of non-communicable diseases," it said. 

It recommended the Department of Health Research (DHR) to undertake a detailed study of the report and come forward with necessary course of research to overcome the challenges as highlighted in the report. 

As far as the ICMR findings on Covid is concerned, the committee stated the agency should proactively continue to play the role of dispelling misconceptions about health-related matters through their well-documented research. 

Studies of social relevance may be taken up suo motu and the research findings be published in lucid language discernible to the masses for their knowledge and keen faith. 

Taking note that the study about sudden Covid deaths published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, the committee suggested the DHR should give wider publicity to the outcomes of such studies in the public interest through social media platforms, community newsletters, blogs, etc.