New Delhi: The Congress on Monday blamed the Centre for its policy lapses for the deteriorating air quality in the country and said the “modus operandi of this government is to blatantly deny that there is any problem of air pollution-related mortality”. Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh also said the independence of the National Green Tribunal must be restored and the anti-people environmental law amendments made in the last 10 years must be rolled back.
“One of the lesser-known tragedies of the non-biological prime minister’s reign is the rapidly deteriorating air quality and policy failures at the national level,” Ramesh said in a statement. According to him, in early July, a study published in the prestigious journal ‘Lancet’ showed that 7.2 percent of deaths in India are related to air pollution and about 34,000 deaths are taking place every year in just 10 cities of the country.
Ramesh says a study by the Centre for Science and Environment in mid-July found that the government was mismanaging pollution control and that the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) was focused on reducing road dust rather than controlling industrial, vehicular and biomass emissions. “This government’s modus operandi is to blatantly deny that there is any problem of air pollution-related mortality. The government is cutting funds targeted at reducing pollution. It is failing to use the resources allocated to it,” he alleged.
The Congress general secretary said, “The first step would be to acknowledge the public health crisis associated with air pollution across large parts of India. The funds provided under NCAP should be increased.” Ramesh urged the government, “NCAP should adopt a regional approach to air quality control and municipal and state authorities should have the necessary governance architecture and resources to collaborate across jurisdictions.” He also said, “The independence of the National Green Tribunal should be restored and the anti-people environmental law amendments made in the last 10 years should be withdrawn.”
