Pavan K. Varma | Clean Air Not A Luxury, Why Govt Not Effecting Solution?

The question, quite bluntly, is of political will. And If there is one issue which clearly demonstrates the absence of political will, it is the air crisis that annually affects Delhi, the NCR region, and much of north India. For years now governments callously continue to substitute political mudslinging for governance. Helpless citizens continue to suffer, and one wonders how long they will just passively accept their slow asphyxiation.

When the Air Quality Index (AQI) regularly breaches ‘severe’ and ‘hazardous’ categories exceeding 450 — levels that should constitute a public health emergency by any civilised standard — scientific studies show that life expectancy is shortened by as much as 8.2 years and contributes to increased incidence of heart attacks, strokes, respiratory ailments and chronic diseases. Children’s lungs are particularly vulnerable, while the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions suffer disproportionately. This is not seasonal discomfort but extreme violence enacted upon millions of citizens year after year.

If this crisis is recurring, why does it persist? Is it beyond solution? Other countries have shown that the problem is solvable. Not long ago, Beijing’s air was as oppressive as Delhi’s. In 2013, the Chinese government declared a ‘war on pollution’, strictly enforcing emissions cuts, enforcing stringent industrial and vehicle standards, and transitioning to cleaner fuels. Sustained implementation produced remarkable and measurable improvements in air quality in major cities.

If China can do it why can’t we? Why do we wake up after the air apocalypse is upon us, when we know that it will happen next year again if an enduring response is not stringently implemented? Routine restrictions on construction activity, deployment of emergency Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) phases, bans on older diesel vehicles, school closures and advisories to stay indoors are only reactive, tokenistic, episodic and short-term band-aids, not cures. The lack of political will is stark: the just concluded session of Parliament did not even find time to discuss the air crisis although it was listed for debate. To my mind, this is not only suicidal but unforgiveable.

This degree of government apathy is, frankly, criminal and violative of the Constitution, since by extinguishing the right to breathe we endanger our right to life, which is a fundamental right. Pollution does not respect municipal or state borders. Shockingly, a joint committee comprising the Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh governments has not been set up. Neither have farmers been provided with economically viable alternatives to crop stubble burning — machinery subsidies, biofuel incentives, crop diversification and value-addition to residues. Nor have we invested on a war footing in the rapid expansion of clean public transport, removed or closed all polluting industrial units, and strictly implemented dust control at construction sites and vehicle emission limits.

Is the Indian state simply incompetent? Or its efficiency selective, working to optimum levels only where the interests of those in power are involved? Let me give two random examples. In May 2002, one of Lalu Yadav’s daughters, Rohini, was to get married. The groom, Samaresh Singh’s family lived in an obscure and underdeveloped village in Bihar, Hichhinbigha. The entire state machinery was deployed to upgrade this village almost overnight in time for the marriage. For the first time since Independence its residents got electricity and street lights. A pucca asphalt/metalled road was built in days. A dilapidated school building was remodelled and renovated like magic. When the orders came from above with strict timelines, the same slack bureaucracy could do wonders.

Another illustrative example is the ‘cleaning’ of the Yamuna for Chhath Puja this year. Doing so was important for the powers that be because of the impending Bihar elections. Voters from Bihar, who needed to take a dip in the river as part of the rituals, could not be left unimpressed. Naturally, the government swung into action. The toxic froth was subdued using chemical spraying; clean zones were created around newly refurbished ghats; water was deployed from Haryana’s Hathikund Barrage to dilute pollutants. Presto, the Yamuna looked clean. It is, of course, entirely in keeping with the way we tackle problems that within days after the festival, the toxic foam and foul smell was back. The real causes, untreated sewage and industrial waste entering the river, which require long-term infrastructure investment, were jettisoned in favour of short-term fixes.

What perplexes me the most is why have citizens not galvanised into a sustained movement powerful enough to force a transformation? Possibly, the answer lies in habituation, a cruel adaptation to adversity, wherein air pollution has become, in public imagination, a seasonal inconvenience rather than an urgent crisis demanding mass mobilisation. The nation deeply reveres the national song, Vande Mataram, but it can be asked whether a day-long debate on excavating its past is the right priority, when just outside Parliament people can hardly sing because they are choking.

Do those inside the clean air precincts of Parliament realise that while pollution is a shared problem, its burdens are unevenly distributed? Those with means retreat behind air purifiers, those without are left to suffer. The vast majority of people have no option but to go out and earn a daily wage. Do the privileged ever think of what this toxic air does to them? Moreover, is the government unaware of what this does to our international image, even if we are the world’s third largest economy? How can we take pride in being the world’s fastest growing economy if our national capital is unliveable for months on end? Other countries judge us also by our ability and resolve to tackle a problem that every year endangers the lives of millions of people, especially where there are solutions that can be implemented but are ignored.

Ultimately, apart from unforgiveable political neglect, Delhi’s air crisis is equally a failure in transforming passive sufferers into empowered citizens. All citizens — parents, workers, students, professionals — must recognise that clean air is not a luxury but a right. When collective voices demand accountability and justice with sustained intensity, political responses will follow. The question is: Will we act, or will we wait for the next winter’s smog to choke our conscience once again?