Delhi Air pollution: Narendra Modi government cares, says tough action coming soon

Expressing concern on environmental degradation in Delhi, Ministry of Environment & Forests Secretary C K Mishra said on Monday that Centre is determined not to have a repeat of the smog-like situation in the national capital and no one authority could be held responsible for the issue. The minister launched a report on ‘Clean Energy Innovation Ecosystem in the SME sector in India’ in an event at WWF India. The city was under thick cover of smog in the first week of November and air quality reached emergency levels. Commenting on that Mishra said that for recent smog in Delhi no one authority could be held responsible. If the government has not been able to tackle pollution than those emitting pollutants should also be held responsible. He added that government is determined to prevent smog-like situation in Delhi again. Also, the concern is not just for national capital but for the entire nation. And if in this process harsh measures are needed than so be it, because the government cares for human lives. Despite government’s willingness to eradicate smog like situation in Delhi, the city’s air quality on Monday was very poor with the reading of 362. Concerned over this the government had issued advisory for people to go for carpooling and public transport. The heath department had also urged people not to burn leaves, crop residue, wood and coal. The air quality in Delhi again slipped back to being “very poor”, which can cause respiratory illness on prolonged exposure. The report by the Centre for Science and Environment said air pollution causes 30 percent of all premature deaths in India. In 2016, it said, 35 million people across the country had chronic asthma, a lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways. “Every third child in Delhi has impaired lungs while air pollution causes 30 percent of all premature deaths in the country,” the report ‘Body Burden: Lifestyle Diseases’ said. It claimed a crucial link exists between the environment and health, some of them yet-unexplored such as the connection between air pollution and mental health. It also investigates and exposes the new and emerging environmental triggers of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Source: Financial Express