New Delhi: Leading environmentalist Sunita Narayan has said that cleaning Delhi's air requires taking "uncomfortable and inconvenient" decisions, and this cannot be achieved by treating everyone well, especially the rich. With residents who contribute significantly to this problem.
In a conversation with editors, Narayan said that although the Central and state governments have taken several steps to control air pollution in the national capital, including banning coal and introducing BSVI fuel, unregulated air pollution due to climate change Weather patterns and inadequate response to the crisis continue. To aggravate the problem.
Narayan, director general of the Center for Science and Environment, said periodic burning of crop residues by farmers in winter is not a matter of primary concern. Instead, what is more worrisome are the persistent and major sources of pollution within the city, including transportation and industries, he said. “My only request to the new government is to take some uncomfortable, inconvenient decisions to move forward on air pollution,” he said.We will never clean Delhi's air by treating everyone, especially the rich of Delhi, well."
Narayan, who was part of the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, also urged the new government at the Center to bring natural gas under the GST regime, arguing that the current three-time taxation on gas would make it Makes it ineffective in comparison. Dirty coal. This change will make clean gas a more viable option, he said.
Narayan said, "My biggest request to the next government... the easiest thing we can do to reduce pollution in Delhi is to bring it (natural gas) under GST." Emphasized the need to reduce vehicle pollution.Source apportionment studies conducted recently show that the contribution of transport to Delhi's PM2.5 pollution ranges from 17.9 per cent to 39.2 per cent, while the contribution of industries ranges from 2.3 per cent to 28.9 per cent.
"Delhi has taken several steps to control air pollution. It is the only city in the country to ban the use of coal, which is a major achievement. Delhi closed its last coal-based power plant and started using coal for power generation. BSVI fuel was introduced and congestion charge was imposed on trucks entering Delhi, Narayan said.The construction of a peripheral expressway now allows trucks to bypass the city." Efforts have also been made to encourage the use of natural gas. In Delhi, there is zero VAT on gas, and natural gas is now supplied to industrial plants across the city. Easily available in the areas, he said these initiatives have collectively reduced the pollution levels year on year.
However, Narayan said there are two major factors that are exacerbating the problem – worsening weather conditions, which are beyond human control, and inadequate speed of response to the crisis.For example, there was no rain in northwest India, including Delhi, this winter. He said the lack of rainfall is due to changes in the Arctic jet stream affecting Western Disturbances, which is becoming more irregular and moving northwards. This has led to less snowfall in the mountains and less in Delhi, Narayan said. It rained, resulting in increased pollution levels.
"Secondly, for all the actions taken through 2021, we are not taking action at the pace that is required because of the crisis," he said.
The environmentalist said the last major expansion of the bus fleet took place around the Commonwealth Games during the tenure of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.Since then, many buses have not been replaced, leading to a decline in bus ridership, he said and added that the bus system needs to be integrated with the metro system and parking facilities to be effective.
Delhi's air pollution has made headlines in recent years, as millions of people grapple with the noxious smog that hangs over the city in winter. Although pollution is a year-round problem in Delhi, adverse meteorological conditions, burning of paddy straw and firecrackers during this period significantly worsen the air quality levels in the national capital and surrounding areas.
Over the past few years, central and state governments have implemented various solutions to address the problem, including installing giant smog towers, imposing temporary bans on construction activities, and introducing the odd-even scheme, where vehicles are driven on the basis of the last digit. But let's go on alternate days. Their registration number.According to a report compiled by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, air pollution is about 12 times lower in Delhi.
In a conversation with editors, Narayan said that although the Central and state governments have taken several steps to control air pollution in the national capital, including banning coal and introducing BSVI fuel, unregulated air pollution due to climate change Weather patterns and inadequate response to the crisis continue. To aggravate the problem.
Narayan, director general of the Center for Science and Environment, said periodic burning of crop residues by farmers in winter is not a matter of primary concern. Instead, what is more worrisome are the persistent and major sources of pollution within the city, including transportation and industries, he said. “My only request to the new government is to take some uncomfortable, inconvenient decisions to move forward on air pollution,” he said.We will never clean Delhi's air by treating everyone, especially the rich of Delhi, well."
Narayan, who was part of the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, also urged the new government at the Center to bring natural gas under the GST regime, arguing that the current three-time taxation on gas would make it Makes it ineffective in comparison. Dirty coal. This change will make clean gas a more viable option, he said.
Narayan said, "My biggest request to the next government... the easiest thing we can do to reduce pollution in Delhi is to bring it (natural gas) under GST." Emphasized the need to reduce vehicle pollution.Source apportionment studies conducted recently show that the contribution of transport to Delhi's PM2.5 pollution ranges from 17.9 per cent to 39.2 per cent, while the contribution of industries ranges from 2.3 per cent to 28.9 per cent.
"Delhi has taken several steps to control air pollution. It is the only city in the country to ban the use of coal, which is a major achievement. Delhi closed its last coal-based power plant and started using coal for power generation. BSVI fuel was introduced and congestion charge was imposed on trucks entering Delhi, Narayan said.The construction of a peripheral expressway now allows trucks to bypass the city." Efforts have also been made to encourage the use of natural gas. In Delhi, there is zero VAT on gas, and natural gas is now supplied to industrial plants across the city. Easily available in the areas, he said these initiatives have collectively reduced the pollution levels year on year.
However, Narayan said there are two major factors that are exacerbating the problem – worsening weather conditions, which are beyond human control, and inadequate speed of response to the crisis.For example, there was no rain in northwest India, including Delhi, this winter. He said the lack of rainfall is due to changes in the Arctic jet stream affecting Western Disturbances, which is becoming more irregular and moving northwards. This has led to less snowfall in the mountains and less in Delhi, Narayan said. It rained, resulting in increased pollution levels.
"Secondly, for all the actions taken through 2021, we are not taking action at the pace that is required because of the crisis," he said.
The environmentalist said the last major expansion of the bus fleet took place around the Commonwealth Games during the tenure of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.Since then, many buses have not been replaced, leading to a decline in bus ridership, he said and added that the bus system needs to be integrated with the metro system and parking facilities to be effective.
Delhi's air pollution has made headlines in recent years, as millions of people grapple with the noxious smog that hangs over the city in winter. Although pollution is a year-round problem in Delhi, adverse meteorological conditions, burning of paddy straw and firecrackers during this period significantly worsen the air quality levels in the national capital and surrounding areas.
Over the past few years, central and state governments have implemented various solutions to address the problem, including installing giant smog towers, imposing temporary bans on construction activities, and introducing the odd-even scheme, where vehicles are driven on the basis of the last digit. But let's go on alternate days. Their registration number.According to a report compiled by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, air pollution is about 12 times lower in Delhi.
