Delhi, where pollution levels have remained 17 per cent higher than prescribed norms for the past week or so, is in reality a metaphor for India. While the nation’s capital has become a special case and alarm bells are ringing in the corridors of power, all our major urban centres, including Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns, are also choking, national and international data shows.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has called the city a “gas chamber”. Union minister of state for environment Anil Dave concurs. So do the people living in the National Capital Territory. But we would be remiss in the discharge of our responsibility if we didn’t recognise that other cities and towns have also become “mini gas chambers”, calling for urgent attention.
Mr Kejriwal on Sunday announced a series of emergency measures to tackle the grave problem which is taking a heavy toll of people’s health, specially that of children, the elderly and women. The Indraprastha power station is to go off for a number of days. Diesel generator sets are to be switched off for a while, except emergency facilities like hospitals. The burning of waste has been given a pause. Schools have been ordered shut for three days so that children may not expose themselves to the dirty air.
Mr Kejriwal and the Centre could, however, have done much more together. Suspending the entry of trucks and buses from other states for about a week should also be considered. These vehicles take a short cut through Delhi and add to the foulness of air in a big way. Even trucks carrying commodities of daily use should be stopped from entering the city for a limited period, though this will lead to some hardships.
But we must bear in mind that for the millions of people who live in Delhi-NCR, it might be better to suffer this than go through painful health problems and incur expense on treatment.
While doing the above, the real test for any government is whether the painful long-term measures can be boldly taken. These include firmly stopping older diesel vehicles and curbing the manufacture and sale of new ones. Two, throwing out polluting small and medium industries which have mushroomed in crowded residential areas over the decades, in complete violation of Delhi’s defunct master plan, as bribes have been paid up and down the line. Building roads bypassing the capital so that long-distance trucks and buses need not enter the city is a must. Most of these reflect abject failure of governance and administration.
In the hierarchy of causes, burning of agricultural stubs in neighbouring states will figure relatively low. Let not the government exaggerate this to escape doing what it needs to. Other states and cities must learn quickly from Delhi’s plight.
