Tackling Delhi’s annual pollution crisis: Measures are in place, how effective are they?

On Sunday, Delhi’s average air quality was in the ‘very poor’ category at 356 — the worst in the country, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The Delhi Environment Minister has warned that the next 15 days are crucial with Diwali festivities (on October 31) and stubble-burning season in the neighbouring states (Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana) coinciding this year.

Smog in New Delhi on Saturday. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)

Year after year, interventions have been planned — pushing for public transport, curbing dust pollution, a firecracker ban — to curb pollution. The Indian Express looks at what’s been promised and what’s been done on the ground.

According to a 2015 IIT-Kanpur study on sources of pollution in Delhi, among the top contributors to PM 10 (particulate matter of diameter of 10 micrometers or less) emissions annually were road dust at 56%, industrial point sources at 10% and vehicles at 9%. The top four contributors to PM 2.5 (particulate matter of diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less) emissions were road dust (38%), vehicles (20%), domestic fuel burning (12%), and industrial point sources (11%).

The Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) analysis of data from the Decision Support System (DSS) for Air Quality Management shows that among local emission sources, around half of Delhi’s particulate pollution during winter months is from the transport sector.

People walk on the Kartavya Path as smog shrouds Raisina hill, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)

The most polluted months in the year are generally November, December and January, according to the data on monthly AQI averages. So far this year, only three ‘severe’ days have been reported in January while there have been no ‘good’ AQI days, as per data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) (see box).

The daily average AQI till Saturday stood at 198. But when compared to the daily average AQI in the same period since 2016 (when the average AQI was 236) it shows that air quality levels are the worst since 2019, when it stood at 152 for the same period.

The 2021 air quality guidelines of the World Health Organisation suggest that daily average PM 2.5 levels should not exceed 15 µg/m3 and for PM 10 levels, the limit is set at 45 µg/m3. On Sunday, as per data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels reached up to 445 µg/m3 and 1,566 µg/m3.

Action taken

One of the key actions to combating air pollution is invoking the Centre’s emergency Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) when the air quality in Delhi-NCR is expected to decline in the winter months. At present, GRAP Stage 2 (when AQI is between 301 and 400) has been activated by the Commission for Air Quality and Management (CAQM) since October 21. Under this, there is a ban on the use of coal and firewood, including tandoors at hotels, restaurants, and open eateries as well as diesel generator sets (except for emergency and essential services). It also includes a hike in parking charges to discourage the use of private vehicles.

Parking fee hike

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) hiked parking fees last week. Earlier, a parking fee of Rs 20 was charged per hour for four-wheelers (with the maximum being Rs 100 for 24 hours), but now Rs 40 will be charged per hour (maximum Rs 200 for 24 hours). For two-wheelers, the fee is Rs 10 per hour (maximum Rs 50 for up to 24 hours) but now Rs 20 will be charged per hour (maximum Rs 100 for up to 24 hours). In November 2023 too, it had increased parking rates.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi, however, is yet to do so. To date, since GRAP came into existence, parking charges in MCD areas have not been hiked even once.

According to an MCD official, “Parking rates have not been increased as there are several locations, like in Northeast and Outer Delhi, where bus and Metro connectivity is not as good. A proposal was placed in the MCD House to automatically increase parking charges by four times, every time GRAP II guidelines are enforced. However, it was postponed; it is expected the agenda will be presented in the House again.” Metro congestion is already high so a surge in parking fees will cause a public crisis, added the official.

Vehicular emissions

The Delhi government has restarted action against End-Of-Life vehicles (petrol and diesel vehicles that have completed 15 years and 10 years of age) in the city. According to officials in the Delhi Transport Department, there are around 1.5 lakh old vehicles and nearly 2,000 of these have been impounded so far.

The Centre, meanwhile, said a total of 3,567 intercity buses ply to Delhi daily from various cities in Haryana, UP and Rajasthan, and all of these have shifted completely to much cleaner BS-VI diesel/CNG/EV mode.

The transport sector remains the major source of air pollution despite elaborate measures to combat it. Archive

In the CAQM’s latest revision, stringent action was also introduced in Stage 2 of its emergency response measures for better control of vehicular pollution. There is no permit for inter-state buses from NCR states other than EVs/CNG/BS-VI diesel, to enter Delhi (excluding buses/tempo travellers operated with an All-India Tourist Permit).

The transport sector remains the major source of air pollution despite elaborate measures to combat it. When asked about this, the AAP-led Delhi government responded, “… It is well established that the situation at Anand Vihar is worsening because of the pollution of diesel buses at UP’s Kaushambi Depot. Cases of stubble burning are rising each day in BJP-ruled UP and Haryana.”

Dust pollution

The government has initiated action against vehicles without valid pollution under control certificates and transportation of construction and demolition (C&D) material in open vehicles, said the ministry. In terms of stringent measures to control dust pollution from C&D activities, officials said 580 construction sites are registered in Delhi and CAQM has mandated deployment of anti-smog guns in proportion to the area of construction. There is remote monitoring of bigger construction projects on plot areas greater than 500 sqm.

Stubble burning

Prevention of stubble burning has been a “high-priority sector”. As of October 26, a total of 3,434 crop-residue burning events have been reported in Punjab (1,857), Haryana (700), UP (865) and Delhi (12), as per data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute. The number is significantly low for Punjab against the 18,347 cases reported in 2020 from September 15 to October 26. Haryana also recorded the least fires in this period; the highest reported was 2,010 in 2021. UP, on the other hand, has seen the highest number this year when compared to previous years. In 2023, it had reported 706 stubble-burning events for the period.

IITM in its air quality forecast has warned that stubble burning cases will pick up and lead to severe air quality in the coming days.

To curb this, in-situ and ex-situ management is recommended by the CAQM. Crop diversification, promoting basmati variety, low straw and early maturing paddy varieties, and direct seeding of rice methods are some of the plans or schemes to reduce paddy straw generation. The Environment Ministry stated, “Owing to concerted action by all stakeholders, a gradual but significant reduction has been witnessed in paddy residue burning incidences.”

Artificial rain

This is being considered as a potential emergency measure by the Delhi government. Environment Minister Gopal Rai has repeatedly called for considering cloud seeding as an emergency measure to induce rain and reduce pollution while urging the Centre to convene a meeting with stakeholders to approve it.

Anti-smog gun sprays water to control air pollution in Anand Vihar. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)

According to the Union Environment Ministry, “A detailed proposal on artificial rain was sought from DPCC on September 23, which has not been received. However, experts have opined that source mitigation is to be done by Delhi and artificial rain may not be of much use.”

More needs to be done: Experts

Several experts The Indian Express spoke to said what’s worked through GRAP is a better coordination system to bring stakeholders — pollution control board agencies, industrial area authorities, and MeT department — on board, but it is reactive.

“We need a system wherein the rise in pollution levels is predicted several days in advance. This can help policymakers plan interventions. Delhi has seen the maximum number of interventions every year during this time,” said Swagata Dey, a policy specialist with the Air Quality Team, Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy.

The emergency action plan approved by the Supreme Court in 2016 does not include long-term measures for pollution-source mitigation.

Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director of Research and Advocacy at CSE, said, “We need to get granular in approach to see a change in the long-term… It is not enough for the government to say the number of electric buses fleet has increased; even with augmenting the Metro, there is a shortfall. There needs to be an action-taken report that is made public instead of just the Winter Action Plan. The report should have the action taken in key pollution sectors and an assessment needs to be done, gaps need to be addressed whether it is systemic or infrastructural.”

There is a need for more dynamic models for forecasting severe air quality events in advance, she said. “Work is in the pipeline by experts from IIT-Kanpur, among others, to build more efficient models to forecast AQI.”

Dey said, “Reducing waste burning in pockets by better collection and segregation of waste; replacing biomass for cooking in urban slums by providing easier access to LPG; implementing stricter norms for DG sets in the wedding season; and providing cleaner, affordable, safe, and reliable mass public transport — all of these must continue. We need to phase out CNG buses in favour of electric ones as CNG emits nitrogen oxides which contribute to smog and particulate matter. The construction ban that comes into effect for GRAP must be followed for all sites without exemptions… However, all these need to continue throughout the year…”

The CSE, in its latest report ‘Air Quality and Vulnerable Groups: An Agenda for Inclusive and Just Action’, pointed out that hotspot plans in Delhi don’t include the nature of exposure of local communities, their vulnerability, and coping capacity to the crisis. A singular focus on ambient air quality, while excluding an assessment of exposure to different groups, is a limitation of the air quality management approach, it stated.

Despite several interventions unlike any other state in the country, there is still a lot to be done, including mitigation of hyperlocal sources of pollution, experts said.