Nine-year-old climate and environment activist Licypriya Kangujam protested at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi against the deteriorating air quality and rising pollution in the nation’s capital. Standing defiantly and sending a poignant message to the authorities and the people of India, the young Licypriya carried a placard that read – “Delhi starts choking now: People start talking now: Leaders start blaming now: No concrete action yet. 6 million children were killed every year. We want a permanent solution! Save our lives from Delhi air pollution. Take urgent climate action now! Act now – Child Movement for Climate.”
Licypriya was spot on regarding political leaders blaming each other for the unacceptable pollution levels. Addressing a press meet, the ruling party’s spokesperson, Nupur Sharma blamed the state government ruled by AAP, saying: “When Delhi government allocates a meagre Rs 52 crore in a Rs 65,000 crore budget for the environment, spends nothing from the Rs 787 crore from the environment cess it received in 2017, admittedly rents only three road vacuum cleaning machines but spends upwards of Rs 73 crore on advertisements and self-promotion within July and August, it is clear where CM Kejriwal’s priorities lie.”
Earlier, the Union Environment Minister, Prakash Javadekar had asserted in another press conference: “50 teams of CPCB will be deployed for inspection in Delhi-NCR from today. Stubble burning contributes only 4% of pollutants in the environment of Delhi, rest is due to local factors like dust, construction & biomass burning.”
Countering the allegations, the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal quipped: “Staying in denial will not help. If stubble burning causes only 4% of pollution, then why has the pollution suddenly increased last fortnight? The air was clean before that. The same story every year. There is no massive jump in any local source of pollution in the last few days to cause this spike? Let us accept that stubble burning causes huge pollution every year in North India during this time. And let us all together find a solution sincerely. Blame game and politics hasn’t helped anyone. People are suffering. I am extremely worried that pollution will play havoc coupled with corona.”
But what is the real problem when it comes to the extremely toxic air of New Delhi and why does this problem worsen at this time of the year? Is stubble burning the only villain in the piece or are there other rotten apples? Is there any permanent solution to the problem or do we have to simply live with it?
A SEASONAL PROBLEM
It is an undeniable fact that the extremely high level of air pollution in the country’s capital is in the news every year around October. This is the time of withdrawal of the monsoon season in Northwest India. The direction of the wind changes from easterly to North-westerly. According to a study by the NPL (National Physical Laboratory, Delhi receives 72% wind from the North-West and the remaining 28% from the North and Eastern regions of India constituting the Indo-Gangetic plains. This makes Delhi susceptible to any air pollution created in its North Western vicinity.
The governments of Punjab and Haryana passed laws that made it mandatory for farmers to delay the sowing of paddy. The aim was to preserve groundwater by coinciding with the new sowing cycle with monsoons. However, this move gave little time to farmers for harvesting paddy, clearing the fields, and sowing wheat for the next cycle. As the paddy straw is not suitable to feed livestock, the easiest way is to burn it and clear the fields. The alternatives that are available to burning the straw require the use of expensive high power tractors and seeder machines. The process is time-consuming and the machines are not easily available. The farmer community is very strong politically and it is not easy to dissuade them to do away with the practice of burning the stubble. However, according to an oft-quoted study carried out by IIT Kanpur, stubble-burning (part of biomass) constitutes between 17-26% of all particulate matter. Dust pollution makes up 56% while the road pollution (because of vehicular traffic – emissions by automobiles) constitutes 38%. The contribution of heightened air pollution due to stubble burning is made out by the reports of the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). Last year the contribution of stubble burning rose to 40% in late October-November whereas it has been between 2% to 4% at other times of the year.
A TICKING TIME BOMB
‘Down to Earth’, a fortnightly run by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), comes out with an annual report based on the state of our environment by carrying out extensive research and documentation. Some of the information that can be found in its 2019 report is quite critical of India’s record in protecting the environment:
(1) Air pollution – is responsible for 12.5% of all deaths in India. The impact on children is disturbing as it causes deaths of more than 100,000 children below the age of five.
(2) Water pollution – both surface and groundwater are under stress. 86 water bodies are critically polluted. A possible reason is the 136% increase in the number of grossly polluting industries between 2011 and 2018. Groundwater is being over-exploited, which makes 94.5% of all minor irrigation schemes in the country.
(3) Land and agriculture – input costs for major crops are rising while the average farmland size is shrinking.
(4) Waste – 79 major protests against unsanitary landfills and dump yards in 22 states in the past three years. A 56% increase in the number of hazardous-waste generating industries between 2009 and 2016-17.
(5) Energy – gas-based plants are running at 24% of their capacity due to the acute shortage of domestic natural gas. Hydropower projects running 19% of their capacity and their share in total installed capacity under consistent decline since 1962. India’s progress on the renewable energy front in 2018-19 has also been bleak. We achieved 6.3% of our target for wind and 5.86% target for solar.
(6) Climate – A 22% increase in India’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions between 2010 and 2014. The energy sector is responsible for 73% of the total GHG emissions.
THE MORAL DIMENSION
It is an undisputable fact that the human race has disregarded the laws of nature and ignored the fragility of our precariously balanced ecological system. We did not exercise the required patience and care that was mandated for the utilisation of natural resources. We perpetrated ecological imbalance.
The Qur’an (7:31) says – “Eat and drink but do not be wasteful. Surely He (Allah) does not love the wasteful.” It means that we are not prohibited from utilising the resources of the earth for our benefit and existence. However, we should not abuse and exploit them without any regard to its consequences. In other words, we are allowed to consume but not with a “consumerist attitude” and a “capitalistic approach” where only the bottom-line matters. We have to develop a “green mindset” and think about the environment as an ‘amanah’ gifted to us by our Creator.
In a Hadith the Prophet ﷺ said: “If the Resurrection were established upon one of you while he has in his hand a sapling, then let him plant it.” (Musnad Ahmed #12491). We are gasping for fresh air in the nation’s capital not only due to governmental apathy and inefficiency but also because of our lifestyle of “have money-will spend” and a “live and let-die” attitude. We need to find the ‘will’ to reverse this trend before it is too late.