Lives at stake

Poor air quality is a public policy failure

The findings of the air quality life index study, conducted by the Energy Policy Institute, University of Chicago, would come as no surprise to Indians but should provoke introspection from governments at the Centre and the states. The fact that India’s entire population lives in areas where the annual average particulate pollution level exceeds the World Health Organization (WHO) limit of 5 micrograms per cubic metre (ugm3) points to a collective leadership failure to address a key health issue. Delhi figures again as the world’s most polluted city, which, the study says, takes almost 12 years off the life of the average denizen. But this star billing for the city, which includes the national capital, should not detract from the fact that the average Indian too is exposed to dangerous levels of pollution. Even when viewed from India’s national standard of 40 ugm3, according to the study, some 67 per cent of Indians live in areas that exceed this limit. Between 2013 and 2021, India was responsible for 59.1 per cent of the increase in world pollution. At the bottom of these failures are poorly designed policies that have signally failed to tackle the key causes of pollution, particularly of PM 2.5 particles.

For instance, a publicised “war against pollution” in the shape of a National Clean Air Programme was announced in 2019 for a 20-30 per cent reduction in PM2.5 and PM10 concentration by 2024 relative to 2017 levels. Yet India remains one of the world’s largest consumers of coal, and consumption is rising. Ultra-polluting thermal power plants account for the bulk of the generation today, with renewable energy (mainly solar) accounting for just 12 per cent of the mix. This underperformance by renewable energy is mostly on account of heavy tariffs on imported panels for solar energy, complex domestic-sourcing norms, and the failure to address structural issues in power prices and technical problems that make state-owned distribution companies reluctant to incorporate renewable energy.

Ironically, India’s dependence on fossil fuel is likely to nullify the effort to reduce vehicular-emission norms by promoting electric vehicles (EVs) since charging stations will continue to be fuelled by thermal power. Mis-targeted subsidies have also impacted the consumer transition to EVs. Meanwhile, construction dust has emerged as a major source of pollution, overtaking vehicular pollution. Though the National Green Tribunal has mandated several procedures for reducing dust pollution at construction sites, these are observed mostly in the breach. Finally, there is the relatively new problem of stubble burning, which envelops north India in a grey haze each year, the complex legacy of agricultural policies that encouraged water-intensive crops to be grown in water-poor areas. The bigger point about India’s increasingly grim outlook in air quality is the disproportionate toll it takes on the poor and middle classes. Unlike the rich, who can afford to insulate themselves by investing in air purifiers or travelling abroad, the average Indian has no escape from the deleterious consequences of poor air and diminished ability to pay the medical costs of pollution-related illnesses. For politicians who routinely claim concern for the poor, therefore, delivering clean air should be top priority.