More than commission to check air pollution

More than commission to check air pollution

Air pollution is a serious problem with environmental, public health and economic dimensions. Tackling it requires concerted, consistent, science- and evidence-based solutions. Focusing on its most visible aspects might help score some brownie points but will not help people breathe clean air. The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas has the potential to address this problem but an institution by itself is not a solution.

An impediment to improving air quality has been the inability and unwillingness of the authorities, particularly state governments, to address the issues outside of emergency situations or seasonal spikes. Thus, the focus is on solutions that promise, often falsely, immediate relief — hence the Rs 20 crore smog tower, switching off engines at red lights, or talk of cloud seeding. Interventions by the judiciary have exacerbated this penchant for quick fixes. The predilection for high-visibility solutions has been underwritten by the public, who, too, are reluctant to accept that they have to modify their conduct for sustainable solutions. All this, together with poor implementation of existing regulations, has resulted in a crisis. Given this context, the commission, set up through an Ordinance, is likely to be of little avail — unless it serves as a platform to bring together the stakeholders, including state governments, relevant institutions, public representatives and civil society, and prepare society for sustained effort to change the way they live and work, informed by science.

Air pollution costs lives, impacts productivity and cognitive abilities, and makes people more susceptible to disease, exacting a huge economic cost. It must be checked.