Madhav Singhania | Greed led us to rising level of pollution in Delhi, North

Independent India is 75 years old and one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. On December 12, 1911, the capital of British India was shifted from what was then Calcutta to Delhi, re-establishing the city as the political centre for the British Empire in the country. Delhi is India’s second most populous city and has a large regional population. However, the high concentration of population and economic activities in the region, followed by faulty working methods and administrative inefficiencies, have led to the deterioration of the environment.

Today, the city does not fare in more than one parameter, including air and water quality, drainage, sanitation, and noise levels.

Today, when India is galvanising its economy and uplifting millions of lives from poverty, these factors become massive challenges for the government and industry alike. Due to human activities, environmental pollution has been increasing since industrialisation. The main factor responsible for the present state, especially air pollution, are the higher population growth rate, poor industrial enforcement and unplanned urbanisation.

I know that all of us know that air pollution is a major global problem, and it aggravates existing health problems and, in severe cases, causes death. Air pollution is also responsible for various environmental issues, including damaged forests and crops, and all these impacts entail high economic costs. As these costs become widely known, the abatement of pollution becomes increasingly essential.

Delhi’s Aravalli ridge, an extension of the Aravalli range, was rich in flora and fauna and is home to several water bodies and historical monuments. The ridge has been declared a protected area to preserve the ecosystem and ensure environmental and health benefits. Yet, unauthorised construction has taken place in more than one location. The draft MPD-2041 calls for enhancing biodiversity to conserve and preserve the ridge’s ecosystem.

Delhi’s green cover has increased by three per cent in the last eight years. But let us also understand that green cover is not forest cover with high tree canopy density and supports multiple ecosystems.

Come winter, Delhi is again going to see another air apocalypse period, and I dread that.

While the blame game will continue, I feel we should focus on what we can do about it. As I see it, we can do a few things if we need to start now. Prevention is always better than cure; the essential way to prevent emissions is at the source. It is not enough for only the government to notify laws; everyone should sustain it; a positive attitude on the part of everyone in society is essential for preventing pollution.

On administrative measures, the authorities must be very careful about the air pollution caused by factories and vehicles. There should be strict laws to ensure that these don’t lead to corruption, either intentionally or

unintentionally. The recent Supreme Court ban on commercial vehicles that are more than 15 years from plying on the streets of Delhi is just one example of administrative intervention to check pollution. The periodic checks on the emission of corruption from all motorised vehicles are another.

In my opinion, the two sectors most to blame in this regard are the construction industry and the logistics industry, specifically truck owners, for obvious reasons. The construction sector should follow all the suggested guidelines. Additionally, consider putting three air quality sensors to be aware if any of their dust particles are escaping the Periphery, and take the necessary steps accordingly. Heavy-duty trucks are the need of a city and state, especially for a land-locked city like Delhi. We need to join hands to see if there is a way we can shift the load on to trains 15-20 km outside Delhi and then use the electric delivery vans for the last mile.

The CAQM also has issued multiple guidelines, including the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), and a ban on diesel generator sets. But these factors must be revisited, both from its impact to industry and environment. Industry is limping back to normal after the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic which shattered the economies globally.

MSMEs are the worst hit. These bans and burden of capital investment on conversion from diesel generators to alternate fuel generators will adversely impact the working capital and cash flows of industry, especially MSMEs.

Unfortunately, this is an area where the industry cannot act alone, and the government must also come on board. The restrictions impact is not limited to industry but also at individual levels where a number of daily wage workers lose their livelihoods.

Some of the long-term measures for a better environment and mitigating pollution includes encouraging electric vehicles, introducing cycle or no- vehicle zones, greening of playgrounds in schools, parking lots, ensuring a switch to electric cooking, reduce use of coal by 95 per cent, placing of smoke towers/guns at strategic locations, a plan to create “net zero” colonies with the support of RWAs, leveraging technology to monitor more polluted regions and working on it, necessary placement of AQI monitors and integrating at central units for mapping the more polluted pockets in regions and strategizing a corrective plan such as the Kumhar Colony, where we still have conventional methods for making earthen pots and decorative items. It demands that governments come forward and support more widespread electrification efforts.

If you sum up what we are going through today, you will realise that nature gives us the necessities in abundance, and it is probably our greed which led us to this, and maybe that is the root cause that we need to target.