New Delhi: The Congress on Monday accused the government of being in "denial" about air pollution's effect on mortality, citing a FICCI-EY report that attributes about 2 million deaths, nearly 22% of the total, to air pollution in India in 2023.
Jairam Ramesh, the party's general secretary in charge of communications and a former environment minister, said in a post on X that the government had rejected a number of studies, both in Parliament and outside, on the grounds that they were not India-specific and that the deaths could not be directly and uniquely attributed to pollution.
"Now comes a detailed FICCI-EY report that says categorically that around 2 million deaths (about 22% of total) were attributable to air pollution in India in 2023," Ramesh said. "This is yet another wake-up call for the somnolent Modi Government. Ease of doing business is fine, but ease of breathing is even more fundamental."
The party demanded that existing PM2.5 and ozone standards be tightened, the National Clean Air Programme be revamped and a new Clean Air Act be brought in.
The remarks came as Delhi's air quality slipped back into the "severe" category on Monday morning, a day after Deepavali, with an AQI of 404. The city's average on Diwali day was 376, in the "very poor" category.
The government's own position, stated in Parliament and outside, is that the studies cited by the Opposition are not India-specific and do not establish a direct and uniquely attributable link between pollution and deaths. The Environment Ministry has not responded to the FICCI-EY findings.
(With inputs from PTI and media reports)