(a) whether the Government is aware of any study report including the one brought out by the World Bank regarding polluted cities in the world;
(b) if so, the details and findings in respect of cities in the country;
(c) whether there are also reports indicating large number of premature deaths annually due to air pollution in metro cities, particularly in Delhi and Kolkata;
(d) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto along with the number of deaths due to air pollution in the country annually; and
(e) the concrete measures taken by the Government for checking air pollution including developing infrastructure for clean energy and conducting of study on the extent and ill-effects of air pollution on health along with the success achieved so far as a result of the said measures? |
| ANSWER |
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)
(a)&(b) A report entitled “The Little Green Data Book, 2015”envisaging development and the environment using more than 50 indicators for more than 200 countries has been brought out by World Bank. Studies are published on different thematic areas in various journals from time to time which represents the views of authors. The key pollutant which exceeds the permissible values relates to Particulate Matter. Other pollutants like Sulphur dioxide(SO2)and Nitrogen dioxide(NO2) are generally below the permissible limit in cities in India. The high value of Particulate Matter (PM) in Delhi is contributed by geo-climatic conditions, road dust, vehicular emission, construction activity, burning of biomass etc.
(c) &(d) Central Pollution Control Board has not conducted any study relating to mortality due to air pollution. However, to assess the long term impact of air pollution on human health,Central Pollution Control Board had sponsored two epidemiological studies in Delhi (1 for adult and 1 for children) which were conducted by Chittranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata during 2002-2005 and 2007—2012. There is no conclusive evidence to say that air pollution has led to loss of lives. However, air pollution is known to be one of the aggravating factors for many respiratory ailments and cardiovascular diseases.
(e) To minimize the impact of environmental pollution particularly air pollution, the Government has inter alia taken the following actions:
• Notification of National Ambient Air Quality Standards 2009, envisaging 12 pollutants;
• Formulation of regulations/statutes;
• Setting up of monitoring network for assessment of ambient air quality;
• Introduction of cleaner/alternate fuel like CNG, LPG etc. and promotion of public transport network including Metro;
• Creation of infrastructure for industrial pollution control incorporating cleaner production processes, setting up of common pollution control facilities;
Realizing the gravity of pollution, further steps taken by the Government to address pollution, include the following:
• Launching of Clean India Mission (Swatch Bharat Abhiyan);
• Draft Rules for handing and management of municipal waste have been notified for comments of stakeholders;
• Standards for sewage treatment plants have been notified for comments of stakeholders;
• Implementation of Bharat Stage IV norms expanded to 63 selected cities and Bharat Stage III norms in rest of the country;
• National Air Quality index was launched by the Prime Minister in April, 2015 starting with 10 cities;
• Banning of burning of leaves/ biomass;
• Relevant draft rules, including those pertaining to construction and demolition waste have been notified;
• Regular co-ordination meetings have been held at ministerial and other levels with Delhi and other State Governments within the National Capital Region (NCR) on 6th April, 13th April, 24th July, 2015 and 6th November,2015 to control environmental pollution in NCR;
• Short-term plan has been reviewed and long-term plans have been formulated to mitigate pollution in NCR;
• Stringent industrial standards have been formulated and notified for public/stakeholder’s comments and standard for sugar industry, Thermal Power Plant and CETPs have been finalized;
• Government is giving high priority for public partnership in lane discipline, car pooling, vehicle maintenance, pollution under control certification etc.
• Out of 3386 major industries, 1782 industries have installed on-line continuous (24X7) monitoring devices.
But for the aforesaid measures, the levels of pollution with respect to key pollutants would have been higher. |
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