A legislation with multi-sectoral appeal is needed to combat pollution than letting politicians rule air time
The time for learning lessons and passing the parcel of responsibilities is over. We are suffering our worst consequence as climate deniers. The solution to Delhi’s alarming toxic air is in treating it not just as an environmental crisis but a public health hazard, which is killing us as if we are in a conflict zone, and needs our collective last shot at survival. So the political blame game, that characterises this annual debate, needs to stop right now. We require a bipartisan approach. This is a national emergency, considering that the whole of North India is affected and a seriousness of purpose in Delhi would automatically trigger corrective speed in the hinterland and other city administrations. No doubt, the Aam Aadmi Party Government in Delhi has taken several commendable steps and ensured protocol compliances to get things moving in a city that had done little since the green fleet of CNG changed public transport during the Sheila Dikshit regime. But clearly, its claim of 25 per cent reduction in pollution holds no ground in the face of its worst stranglehold this season and just sets up a comparative competition with rival political parties. Particularly at a time when Assembly elections are around the corner, each is upending why certain moves were made or unmade. For example, for all talk of curbing vehicular pollution through the odd-even scheme, one forgets that no party wants to ever talk about rationing the most polluting two-wheelers, too, for fear of a vote backlash. Given the Delhi Government’s crossfire with the Centre, pollution has clearly become fodder for another round of conflict over territorial and administrative roles that require a proactive module from the Centre no less, which is still in two minds about striking hard on farmers in the time of an agricultural crisis. The Congress has also got into the game with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh claiming that despite his own efforts in arresting stubble burning, the Centre should give a policy direction. Party chief Priyanka Gandhi called for a civic bandh to force the Centre into action even as PMO officials huddled to get rid of the haze. At least Modi 2.0, which professedly prioritises the farm economy, should incentivise stubble burning and buy up farm residue till mechanised shredders become viable in numbers and prices. Even in competitive stakes, State governments could re-allocate funds from within the populist schemes already announced. Farm policies must be tweaked to reorient cropping patterns on a scientific zoning basis rather than rely on past practice. We must discourage water-guzzling and stubble-generating crops like rice in Punjab and Haryana, the rice bowls in the plains being enough to sustain volumes.
Only if all put their heads together for a concerted plan of action instead of harvesting political capital out of a killer or claiming credit for being a saviour, would we have a chance. Populism should be replaced by pragmatism and not be dependent on the Supreme Court, which has imposed a Rs 1 lakh fine on garbage burning and has made everybody directly accountable to it for stubble fires, boldly saying “farmers cannot be allowed to kill people.” But the court’s ruling, too, is not heeded when it crosses paths with political agenda. In 2016, the Supreme Court committee had warned how regularising unauthorised colonies in Delhi would stress existing infrastructure and increase carbon footprints. But clearly with an eye on the Delhi elections, the Modi Government has given ownership rights to residents in poorer settlements. Politicking needs to give way to cogent and actionable policies, right now. For this is not just about momentary gains or our lifetime, it is generational. A CSE report says that 8.5 of every 10,000 children in India die victims of pollution before turning five. What we need is not just a stopgap measure but a comprehensive national policy and a law like the Clean Air Act in the US. In other words, a legal rather than political mandate. One that ensures crackdowns, encourages alternative energy players to innovate and develop economies of scale and ensures deterrence, accountability and compensation. We need to recast the 1981 Air Act, which does not link pollution to health hazards. And overarchingly, everything should be transparent instead of a numerical puzzle. Everybody should be a leader, not an opportunist.