When will India be able to control
pollution?
Not till the middle of the 21st century. So be
prepared to leave your children behind in a living hell. Unless you are prepared to
browbeat your politicians into action. By Anil Agarwal
Many journalists have been asking the question: What will
India’s environment look like in the 21st century? Since India is already
one of the most polluted countries in the world, an important question is: Will India ever
be able to control pollution and, if so, when?
Most of the Indian rivers, especially the smaller ones, are
today toxic drains: Sabarmati, Bhadar, Yamuna, Damodar, Chaliyar, Betwa, Noyyal, Bhawani,
to name just a few. Groundwater, too, is becoming polluted, which is a major source of
drinking water – and most of it is drunk without any treatment. But lets talk in some
detail about air pollution.
Air pollution in Indian cities is also growing by leaps and
bounds. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has just relea
sed the air quality data for 1997 for 70 cities and what
does it show? That Shillong is the only town in India where the air quality in terms of
suspended particulates -- the most threatening air pollutant in Indian cities – was
clean round the year and there was no single day either when the air became even
moderately polluted.
In all the 69 other cities, the air quality was moderately,
highly or critically polluted – terms used and defined by the CPCB -- round the year.
In some, the air was moderately poor round the year but reached high or critical levels of
pollution during certain days in the year. In 33 cities, that is, in about half of all the
cities monitored, the air was critically polluted round the year and they had days when
the air quality was nothing short of disastrous (see Table: Air Quality in Indian cities
in 1997). Another 40 per cent of the cities had high or moderate levels of pollution round
the year but had certain days when the pollution reached critical levels.
Table 1
Air Quality in Indian cities in 1997
(based on measurements of Total Suspended Particulate Matter)
| Level of Air Quality |
No. of towns
Percentage of with air quality of towns where with air quality towns where air round the
year air quality is on most polluted quality is monitored day monitored |
| Critical Pollution (above 1.5 times
the standard) |
33 (Vadodara, Mumbai, Pune, Ludhiana,
Lucknow, Jaipur, Haldia, *Indore, Ahmedbad, Ghaziabad, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Gajraula,
Chandigarh, Dehgradun, Anpara, Gobindgarh, Guwahati, Vapi, Howrah, Alwar, Delhi,
Ankleshwar, Agra, Kanpur, Faridabad, Jharia, Patna, Surat) |
47% |
61 (Yamunanagar, Nagpur, Hyderabad,
Thiruvanatha-puram, Talcher, Kota, Chittor, Korba, Rourkela, Bhilai, Raipur, Bangalore,
Satna, Nasik, Paonta Sahib, Dhanbad, Jalandhar, Pondicherry, Sindri, Sholapur,
Visakhapatnam, Udaipur, Vadodara, Mumbai, Pune, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Jaipur, Haldia, Indore,
Ahmedbad, Ghaziabad, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Gajraula, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Anpara, Gobindgarh,
Guwahati, Vapi, Howrah, Alwar, Delhi, Ankleshwar, Agra, Kanpur, Faridabad, Jharia, Patna,
Surat, Kochi, Tuticorin, Vasco, Damtal, Angul, Chennai, Coimbatore, Parwanoo, Nagda,
Dombivali) |
87% |
| High Pollution (between 1 and 1.5
times the standard) |
18 (Yamunanagar, Nagpur, Hyderabad,
Thiruvanatha-puram, Talcher, Kota, Chittor, Korba, Rourkela, Bhilai, Raipur, Bangalore,
Satna, Nasik, Paonta Sahib, Dhanbad, Jalandhar, Pondicherry, Sindri, Sholapur,
Visakhapatnam, Udaipur) |
26% |
6 (Shimla, Rayagada, Mysore, Chanderpur,
Jamshedpur, Ponda) |
9% |
| Moderate Pollution (between 0.5 and 1
times the standard) |
17 (Kozhikode, Jabalpur, Shimla, Kochi,
Vasco, Rayagada, Damtal, Angul, Mysore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Chanderpur, Jamshedpur,
Ponda, Parwanoo, Nagda, Dombivali) |
24% |
2 (Kozhikode, Jabalpur) |
3% |
| Clean Air (below 0.5 times the
standard) |
2 (Shillong, Tuticorin) |
3% |
1 (Shillong) |
1% |
| TOTAL |
70 |
100% |
70 |
100% |
Source: 1997 Air quality data
from the Central Pollution Control Board
|
