For the past several years, many states in Northern India particularly Delhi has been making global headlines for their deterioration in air quality in the days following Diwali and an upscale in activities like stubble burning that has led to a drastic increase in air pollution.
Usually, the northern belt experiences two spells of severe air pollution during winter. One in October-November and the other in December-January. The first spell of pollution is particularly associated with Diwali firecrackers and stubble burning.
Emissions from stubble burning contributed to 36% of the pollution in 2021 as per data from Centre-run SAFAR. In 2020, the stubble burning in Delhi’s pollution peaked at 42% at the beginning of November. In 2019, on 1 November it amounted to 44% of Delhi’s PM2.5 pollution.
Similarly, the national capital saw the average 24-hour AQI in November of 2021 resting at 462, the worst in five years the day after Diwali. The neighboring cities of Faridabad (469), Greater Noida (464), Ghaziabad (470), Gurgaon (472), and Noida (475) also recorded ‘severe’ air pollution levels.
While the govt and states are on the lookout to remedy the situation this year, a current prediction by the IMD hinting at the worsening of air quality in Delhi in the next few days has left many worried.
What is Stubble Burning?
Stubble burning is a method of removing paddy crop residues from the field to sow wheat from the last week of September to November. It is a process of setting on fire the straw stubble, left after the harvesting of grains, like paddy, wheat, etc and is usually required in areas that use the combined harvesting method which leaves crop residue behind.
Along with vehicular emissions, it affects the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital and NCR. Stubble burning by farmers in Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab in north India is considered a major cause of air pollution in Delhi and its adjoining regions.
In 2020, the stubble burning in Delhi’s pollution peaked at 42%. Reacting to this rise, Vimlendu Jha, an environmental activist said there is a need to find a sustainable solution to stubble burning.
“If the government was actually making an effort the air quality would not have turned this bad. Stubble burning is an important contributor to pollution. We need to find a sustainable solution to stubble burning,” Vimlendu Jha, an environmental activist, was quoted as saying by the news agency ANI.
“Because before it reaches Delhi, the farmers of UP, Haryana, Punjab are perhaps more affected. The government has to look into how to bring all the stakeholders together, agricultural reforms and extremely critical,” Jha said.
Jha also informed that air pollution kills 15 lakh people every year.
Battle Against Pollution Intensifies
In a bid to control the rising levels of pollution, the commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) on Saturday urged all concerned including industries to strictly follow the statutory directions issued by the Commission. In this, the masses have been advised to strictly follow the steps highlighted in the Citizen Charter in each stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the coming days.
The 40 inspection teams or flying squads constituted by the Commission are under directions to intensify inspections, supervise and rigorously monitor enforcement and compliance of statutory directions issued by the Commission to ameliorate the air quality of Delhi-NCR.
These flying squads will conduct surprise inspections and field-level incognito checks at industrial units, C & D sites, commercial/ residential units, air pollution hotspots, etc.
CAQM has also advised the State implementing agencies including State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and DPCC to ensure compliance and strict implementation of the directions issued by the Commission.
Delhi
According to recent reports, the life span of people in Delhi can shorten by up to 10 years due to air pollution. To prevent such a situation for people living in the capital, the authorities have imposed a Graded Response Action Plan or GRAP to bring down the pollution.
It is an emergency response mechanism that is only enforced when air pollution reaches a certain threshold. Formulated in 2017 by the Environmental Pollution Prevention and Control Authority and the Delhi government, it is a step-by-step plan to improve Delhi-NCR’s deteriorating air quality.
GRAP classifies the presence of particulate matter PM2.5 at 61-120 micrograms per cubic meter or PM10 at 101-350 micrograms per cubic meter under “moderate to poor” air quality.
When PM2.5 concentrations shoot over 300 µg/cubic meter or PM10 levels are above 500 micrograms per cubic meter for more than 48 hours, GRAP measures for the “severe or emergency” classification are enforced.
Under this, heavy vehicles like trucks are stopped from entering Delhi and only those with essential commodities are allowed. Construction work is suspended. The government takes a call on implementing the odd/even scheme for private vehicles. The government also sets up a task force to decide on any additional steps, including shutting down schools, colleges, etc.
NCR
Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan are the states that have areas falling in the National Capital Region. The measures undertaken by the states to manage air pollution in the NCR were reviewed in a recent meeting with Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and the importance of coordinated action by all stakeholders was underscored.
Talking to the Minister, the state governments informed that they have involved local bodies and are providing the machinery to farmers to promote in-situ methods of handling crop residue.
The states also informed about the progress in CRM and activities undertaken to promote alternative usage of paddy straw as an economic resource. On an update by the states that progress is being made on ensuring the shifting of the industry to PNG or cleaner fuels, Union Minister Yadav asserted that progress in this regard has to be a priority.
Punjab
Delhi, which is also ruled by AAP, is the biggest victim of stubble burning as the fumes from the crops’ residue engulf the city every year, resulting in a spike in air pollution levels in the capital, particularly in October and November. Therefore, the Punjab government has prepared an elaborate plan involving a massive awareness drive, distribution of thousands of crop residue management machines, and engaging students and religious places to fight paddy stubble burning during the upcoming harvest season.
“We are launching a massive awareness drive in villages to motivate farmers not to burn paddy stubble. It will involve 2,800 camps in villages across the state to dissuade farmers from burning the crop residue,” Punjab Agriculture Director Gurwinder Singh said.
Punjab recorded 71,304 cases of stubble burning in 2021, 76,590 in 2020, 55,210 in 2019, and 50,590 in 2018 with many districts including Sangrur, Mansa, Bathinda, and Amritsar witnessing a large number of such incidents.
Haryana
To curb air pollution, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) on Monday prohibited the manufacture, sale, and use of all kinds of firecrackers, excluding green crackers, immediately.
West Bengal
To prevent health hazards caused due to air pollution, the West Bengal government has allowed only green fireworks during the Kali Puja on October 24 as directed by Calcutta High Court and will follow the recommendations of two central bodies on the issue, said minister Manas Bhunia on Thursday.
Tamil Nadu
Following the same trends of the previous four years, the Tamil Nadu government has allowed bursting crackers for an hour but twice on that day. The permitted window lies between 6-7 am and between 7-8 pm.
‘We Do Not Want to Add to Pollution’ Says SC
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Delhi government’s order banning the storage, sale, and use of all types of firecrackers till January 1, 2023, to check pollution levels in the national capital.
A bench of Justices M R Shah and Krishna Murari expressed concern over pollution levels during Diwali.
“You’re a permanent resident of NCR, right? Have you seen the pollution? We do not want to add to the pollution. We are not dismissing your plea, we will consider it,” the bench told advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha, appearing for BJP MP Manoj Tiwari.
The petition alleged that despite clear orders of the top court, certain states and Union Territories did not take necessary steps to ensure proper arrangements for the celebration of Diwali and instead registered FIRs and imposed curfew.
The top court had last year clarified there is no blanket ban on the use of firecrackers and only those fireworks which contain barium salts are prohibited.
Air Pollution, an Urban Phenomenon? Experts Weigh In
Air pollution is an urban phenomenon and the central government is focusing on monitoring air quality in urban areas, Union Minister of State for Environment Ashwini Kumar Choubey was quoted saying in Rajya Sabha in an assembly session in August of 2022.
However, such a view was objected to by Vivek Chattopadhyaya, Principal Programme Manager, Clean Air, at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) who while talking to Mint, said that air pollution is a regional issue and all the areas get affected. He said industries, thermal power plants, and brick kilns are built near rural areas.
Chattopadhyaya suggested that the government’s air pollution management strategy needs to move beyond a city-centric approach and should cover all the areas in a state.
Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, provided an example of poor air quality in the entire Indo-Gangetic plain to stress that air pollution “flows like a river” and all areas get affected, Mint reported.
Meanwhile, the air quality is likely to remain in the moderate to poor category on Saturday and in the poor category on Sunday, the Air Quality Early Warning System of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology predicted.
The air quality is likely to remain in the poor to a moderate category on October 17. It is likely to remain largely in the moderate to the poor category in the subsequent six-day, it further added. Last week, Delhi witnessed a good spell of rain which brought a significant improvement in the air quality.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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