• As Delhi’s Air Quality Index crosses 500, the national capital has officially entered the public health emergency category.
• This highlights the dire need for amending the 1981 Air Act and making it more compatible with contemporary India.

How serious is air pollution in India?

• Air pollution in India is not simply an environmental problem, but a major public health concern.
• It affects all those breathing in the polluted air - children, the elderly, women and men alike.

• The Centre for Science and Environment reported that air pollution kills an average of 8.5 out of every 10,000 children in India before they turn five.
• Similarly, the WHO in 2016 reported that pollution has led to the deaths of over 1 lakh children in India.
• Overall, several internationally acclaimed studies have affirmed that life expectancy in India has declined anywhere between 2 to 3 years.
• India is in a worse situation compared to its global counterparts in this regard.
• According to Greenpeace, 22 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities are in India.
• [Delhi has yet again bagged the position of the world’s most polluted capital.]
• These are grim figures, especially when compared to India’s neighbours: Five in China, two in Pakistan and one in Bangladesh.
• In 2018, India was placed in the bottom 5 countries on the Environmental Performance Index.
• It was ranked 177th out of 180 countries, along with Bangladesh, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nepal.

What are the implications?

• Currently, breathing in Delhi’s air is similar to smoking 22 cigarettes in a day.
• With toxic air and the lax liability system, young children’s health and quality of life are being significantly affected.
• Schools have been shut, children are complaining of breathing problems.

How have other countries managed?

• In the United States, the Clean Air Act has proven that public health and economic progress can go together.
• For instance, the aggregate national emissions of the six common pollutants in the USA dropped an average of 73% from 1970 to 2017.
• Through one piece of legislation, the US has challenged multiple sources of pollution, airborne or motor vehicle-led.
• Similarly, after declaring a war on pollution, Chinese cities reduced particulate concentration by 32% in 2018.

How worrying is the policy response in India?

• The state and Central governments are simply indulging in blame-games.
• There is a deafening silence at the helm of policymaking because it has not become an electoral priority for political leaders.
• Besides a few underfunded programmes, the government shows no willingness to bring a bill or law with stringent provisions.
• In recent times, the government has worked on drafting policies and programmes to alleviate pollution.
• But there is little to no legal mandate in these, and a budgetary allocation of as little as Rs 300 crore under programmes such as the National Clean Air Programme.
• Given this, no true enforcement of targets and goals is guaranteed.

What are the drawbacks with the 1981 Act?

• Under the 1981 Air Act, the Pollution Control Boards are presently unable to fulfill their mandate as watchdogs against polluting industries.
• In its present form, India’s Air Act does not mention or prioritise the importance of reducing the health impact of rising pollution.
• It is therefore essential to make a rework on the 1981 Air Act that governs the country’s pollution control system.

What should the new law bring in?

• A new bill will plug many loopholes in the 1981 Act.
• It could align the functions and priorities of the Pollution Boards towards reducing the adverse impact of pollution on human health in India.
• Primarily, a new law should make ‘protecting health needs’ to become the central mission that the pollution boards work towards.
• When the air quality goes from normal to toxic and hazardous, the boards must be empowered to declare public health emergencies.
• They should have the power to temporarily shut down all polluting activities.
• Accountability and deterrence are essential in ensuring that industries comply with emission standards.
• While the boards cannot levy penalties, they should be empowered to encash environmental compensations from polluting industries.
• This would be a strong reinforcement for industries to adopt cleaner technologies and comply with standards.
• The industries and their respective state boards must be ranked in order of their efficiency and programme delivery.
• This would incentivise the industries to better themselves through environmental compensations.
• Finally, in a federal set-up, the Centre and states must work in synergy to ensure that targets set for the country and states are fulfilled.
• The new law must thus push Central and state boards to convene joint sittings with a multi-sectoral participation from concerned ministries.
• Multi-sectoral participation is crucial as air pollution is not, and has never been, a problem with a single solution.
• With this need in place, ensuring appropriate political leadership is essential in giving shape to public commitment.
• Therefore, the new law must give an additional mandate to a senior minister or else the prime minister’s office needs to be involved directly.
• The pollution targets must be made public every year to have greater public transparency and control.

What are the priorities for India now?

• The Indian government needs to identify the tangible benefits that concrete legislation on air pollution has brought across the world.
• Under the functioning programmes, higher targets need to be set, penalties need to be stricter, and the mandate needs to be stronger.
• Breathing clean air is the fundamental right of every Indian citizen.
• Hence, human health must become a priority when it comes to legislating on air pollution.