Opinion Bad air, again: Delhi and Punjab govts must keep their ear to the ground, develop alternatives to stubble burning

On October 25, Delhi experienced its cleanest day after Diwali in seven years. But such is the baseline pollution load of the city that the respite for its residents was only in relative terms. It registered poor on the air quality index immediately after the festival — long-term exposure to such air can cause respiratory illness. By the end of last week, all hopes of the smog not keeping its date with the capital had been belied. On October 29, the city’s air quality deteriorated to the “severe” category — a level at which even healthy people can fall ill. With only marginal improvement expected this week, the National Capital Region’s Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) — instituted last year to develop a “holistic approach” to the region’s perennial problem — has resorted to emergency measures that were the stock-in-trade of its predecessor, the Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority. Construction activities have been banned, brick kilns shut down and mining activities suspended.

The NCR’s pollution problem is a complex interplay of the emissions from tailpipes of vehicles, agricultural activities in neighbouring states, industrial activities and geographical factors such as wind speeds. Winds blowing at around 6-7 kmph on Diwali checked the accumulation of pollutants on the festival day. There are also early indications of a decrease in farm fires in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. However, stubble burning in Punjab has increased by more than 30 per cent. In the past, Delhi’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has blamed this pollution on the intransigence of its counterparts in neighbouring states. The AAP’s assumption of office in Punjab had given rise to hopes of an improvement in NCR’s air quality. The new state government did develop a plan for residue management and conducted awareness campaigns. However, the uptake of alternatives to obviate stubble burning has been poor. Four officials of the state’s agriculture department have reportedly been suspended for the plan’s failure. Such knee-jerk reactions will only lower the morale of the agriculture department’s field staff and come in the way of a long-term solution to the problem.

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The Punjab and Delhi governments have joined hands in a pilot project to spray the “Pusa biodecomposer” — a microbial solution that can break down stubble — in 5,000 acres of farmland in Punjab. The technology has, at best, received mixed reception so far — the short window between rice harvesting and planting the winter crop makes the decomposer, which requires 30 days to take effect, impractical. The state government must work to fine-tune such alternatives, and keep an ear to the ground.