Won't just go by foreign data, will do study on air pollution: Centre
Vishwa Mohan
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New Delhi:
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In the wake of international studies that point to rising deaths due to air pollution in India, the Centre announced on Tuesday that it will come out with its own study of the effects of such pollution on human health.Though environment minister Anil Dave maintained that such reports -for example, a recent one that attributed nearly 1.1 million premature deaths in 2015 to air pollution -are based on extrapolation without scientific validation, he said, “The environment ministry is working with the health ministry to assess trends and impact (of air pollution) in this regard.“ He emphasising that the government must trust the data coming from Indian scientists.
“We are also not saying that we do not take note of those (foreign) studies. Neither are we saying those (global) studies are correct or incorrect... A proud country always trusts its own data and takes action on that. We believe in our institutions,“ Dave said.
Though India has not denied air pollution-linked health hazards, it has preferred not to refer to number of deaths in absence of scientific study .The only available report on the issue relates to an epidemiological study on ambient air quality and its impact on children in Delhi by the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata in 2010.
The report highlighted impact of air pollution on human health but didn't speak about specific number of deaths in India. The environment ministry had in August 2015 told Parliament that more than 35,000 had died due to acute respiratory infections (ARI) across India in over nine years from January 2006 to mid-2015.
Without attributing these deaths directly to air pollution, it had said air pollution causes respiratory ailments and may affect lung function.It also noted how it acts as an “aggravating“ factor for many respiratory ailments and cardiovascular diseases. Though global studies halinked far more deaths to ve linked far more deaths to air pollution in India, referring to the 2010 report was a rare official admission that pollution could be causing deaths. The figures, shared in Rajya Sabha in August 2015, show that Bengal reported maximum number of ARI deaths, followed by Andhra (united), UP , MP , Karnataka and Delhi. Asked about action being taken by the Centre to deal with the menace, Dave referred to the 42-point action plan issued to states for implementation and said state governments and local bodies also played a crucial role.
Dave said tackling air pollution was no “rocket science“ and the states and local bodies have to play a “decisive“ role as the Centre can only work like a “philosopher and guide“ in a federal structure.
Referring to air pollution in Delhi, Dave noted that 20% of the air pollution is due to dust on roads and is a major reason for PM 2.5 levels. He said vehicular emissions contributed to 20% of air pollution while another 20% is due to industries, generator sets and stubble burning.
Dave, however, pointed out that the problem was not restricted to Delhi alone. “Since Delhi's air condition becomes worse, we see it more. But the same experience is there in Patna, Bhubaneswar, Mumbai -their health is affected in a similar way ,“ said Dave.
“We are also not saying that we do not take note of those (foreign) studies. Neither are we saying those (global) studies are correct or incorrect... A proud country always trusts its own data and takes action on that. We believe in our institutions,“ Dave said.
Though India has not denied air pollution-linked health hazards, it has preferred not to refer to number of deaths in absence of scientific study .The only available report on the issue relates to an epidemiological study on ambient air quality and its impact on children in Delhi by the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata in 2010.
The report highlighted impact of air pollution on human health but didn't speak about specific number of deaths in India. The environment ministry had in August 2015 told Parliament that more than 35,000 had died due to acute respiratory infections (ARI) across India in over nine years from January 2006 to mid-2015.
Without attributing these deaths directly to air pollution, it had said air pollution causes respiratory ailments and may affect lung function.It also noted how it acts as an “aggravating“ factor for many respiratory ailments and cardiovascular diseases. Though global studies halinked far more deaths to ve linked far more deaths to air pollution in India, referring to the 2010 report was a rare official admission that pollution could be causing deaths. The figures, shared in Rajya Sabha in August 2015, show that Bengal reported maximum number of ARI deaths, followed by Andhra (united), UP , MP , Karnataka and Delhi. Asked about action being taken by the Centre to deal with the menace, Dave referred to the 42-point action plan issued to states for implementation and said state governments and local bodies also played a crucial role.
Dave said tackling air pollution was no “rocket science“ and the states and local bodies have to play a “decisive“ role as the Centre can only work like a “philosopher and guide“ in a federal structure.
Referring to air pollution in Delhi, Dave noted that 20% of the air pollution is due to dust on roads and is a major reason for PM 2.5 levels. He said vehicular emissions contributed to 20% of air pollution while another 20% is due to industries, generator sets and stubble burning.
Dave, however, pointed out that the problem was not restricted to Delhi alone. “Since Delhi's air condition becomes worse, we see it more. But the same experience is there in Patna, Bhubaneswar, Mumbai -their health is affected in a similar way ,“ said Dave.
Source: Times of India, 22-02-2017
