Opinion Delhi’s air pollution is not a seasonal problem – it needs year-round solutions

Our concerns shouldn’t reach “Severe” levels only when the air quality does. Emergency actions during winter months will deliver if we use the rest of the year to prepare our systems to respond to them. And this is how the capital region can do it.

First, monitor local sources year-round. The 15-point winter action plan launched by the Delhi government in early October included measures to strengthen enforcement of reducing dust from construction sites, open burning of waste, industries, vehicles and dusty roads. These contribute to Delhi’s pollution all year round and should, therefore, be monitored for all 12 months. Having dedicated teams to keep track of local dispersed sources all year will help avoid the last-moment fire-fighting that happens during winter such as the sudden shutting down of construction activity.

Second, focus on solutions that cut emissions from sources. Rather than relying on smog guns and smog towers to reduce air pollution, the focus should be on reducing emissions from known sources such as vehicles, industries and diesel generator sets. According to a 2020 International Trade and Environment Technologies Report, India is the ninth-largest market for air pollution control technology in the world. India’s social innovation ecosystem must respond to this emerging market.

Third, fix accountability across departments. CEEW’s research finds that the actions listed in Delhi’s clean air plan are distributed across multiple agencies including urban local bodies, and state and Central departments. The plan also has timelines for deliverables. For that, someone has to be made responsible within each department involved. We keep comparing Delhi’s response to China’s on air pollution. In 2014, China issued rules to evaluate the performance of government officials carrying out local-level air pollution control plans. Environmental targets were incorporated in the annual performance review of officials. Can we envision a similar accountability regime in Delhi NCR?

Fourth, accelerate ramping up of infrastructure for the uptake of crop residue. There is no dearth of evidence pointing to the contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s pollution woes. Adverse meteorological conditions along with additional pollution load from farm fires amplify Delhi’s worsening air quality levels between late October and early November. Over the last four years, we have rested our bets on increasing the availability of farm implements by spending over Rs 3,000 crore on 2 lakh+ in situ farm implements and hoping that farmers would use them. However, our researchers find that farmers’ concerns about the decline in crop yields as a result of using these implements and their high operational costs remain major barriers to their uptake. In contrast, we find that farmers are more inclined to adopt ex-situ crop residue management because it does not alter their farmland and provides scope for additional income. But this approach is plagued by challenges ranging from lack of ex-situ implements like balers to storage infrastructure, the high delivery cost of biomass and lack of adequate biomass end-user base. These should be addressed by crowding in private investments through the PPP model to augment the biomass supply chain and end-use infrastructure.

Fifth, have a clear set of multi-sectoral indicators to track action across sectors. Air pollution cannot be isolated from urban service and livability indicators. Funds available to cities for air quality improvements under the National Clean Air Programme and grants for million-plus urban agglomerations are linked to year-on-year improvements in air quality. More recently, the Union government also introduced the Swachh Vayu Survekshan rankings to reward cities based on the measures that they take to reduce pollution. Such a framework for measuring air quality action is commendable as it clearly helps city administrators contextualise the air quality benefits of actions otherwise aimed at improving urban services. This system should be used by cities to track their performance across sectors and identify areas for improvement.

Finally, with the pollution levels, we are currently witnessing in Delhi, ensuring enforcement of measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) stage IV will be critical, particularly the restrictions on plying of LMVs in Delhi. Municipalities and state governments must amplify messaging around the use of personal protective gear like masks during these grave times. Citizens must do their bit by avoiding unnecessary travel. But this is not the time for dejection or despondence, it is time to collectively reflect on what we can do to help Delhi breathe better. If it works, this can be the Capital Model that other polluted Indian cities can emulate.

The writer is a programme lead at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), an independent not-for-profit policy research institution