The charm that Dehradun has traditionally held for its green environs and clean air seems nothing more but a remnant of the bygone era now gauged against the poor quality of the air its residents are breathing in. For studies on the level of pollutants in Doon's ambient air conducted every year by the State pollution control board warns that the city is overcome with dangerously high amounts of toxic contaminants that are alarmingly higher than permissible limits. India's national air monitoring programme identifies suspended particulate matter (SPM) and respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM/PM10) as two of the four primary air pollutants. SPM and RSPM are known causative agents of mortality and morbidity. Given the severe health hazards they pose, the Central Government has fixed their maximum permissible limit at 100 ug/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter of air) for RSPM/PM10 and200 ug/m3 for SPM. Compared with Indian standard, the air quality guidelines advocated by the World Health Organization and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) are stricter.
However, for at least the past four years, data for which is with The Pioneer, ambient air quality in Doon has been polluted beyond prescribed standards, being more than double at urban centres. A look at studies on Dehradun's ambient air quality undertaken by Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board reveals that the levels of RSPM and SPM in Doon's ambient air are alarming while the State Government fails in rational planning of pollution control strategies.
In January 2014, Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter against the maximum permissible limit of 100 ug/m3 was 183.05ug/m3 at Clock Tower and229 ug/m3 at ISBT. Even the glorious Rajpur Road is not saved from the ravages of urbanization and economic growth, reporting sixty percent higher RSPM toxic pollutants than the upper cap.Ambient Air Pollution (AAP) Database released by WHO two months ago rates Dehradun as one of the 20 most polluted cities in the world, worse than Beijing.
The main culprit for this poisonous contamination in the city is said to be increase in vehicular traffic.
From 42, 144 total registered vehicles in 2001-02 in Uttarakhand, the figure was pegged at a whopping 1,76,674 in 2012-13, a growth of over 300 percent.Dehradun has the highest proportion of these vehicles. Two wheelers, cars, jeeps, buses, trucks, taxis, autos, trailers and other types of vehicles clog the city in a mammoth mass of steel and smoke.
Environmentalists say that such an increase is always tied with economic and social development but the government has failed to implement measures to control air pollution by ensuring strict enforcement of necessary norms and executing carefully designed policies. Traffic congestion is yet another problem leading to high vehicular emissions.
The Pioneer's discussions with doctors in the city underscored that Dehradun has been registering a sharp increase in cardiopulmonary mortality or diseases of the heart and respiratory system due to increase in pollution.
On enquiring as to what the Government is doing to control ambient air contamination in the State capital, the only tangible measure that one learnt was of the traffic police issuing parking-tickets or challans, but without any fine to owners of vehicles seen to emit excessive smoke and flouting emission norms. However, one fears that this alone will not be enough.