Gear up now for pollution-free winter in Delhi, say experts

New Delhi, April 12 (IANS) Highlighting the absence of policy-level interventions to stop farmers from burning crop residue, air pollution experts on Wednesday said the union and state governments need to gear up now for a pollution-free national capital in winter.

They were speaking here at a workshop on air pollution, which saw participation from IIT-Delhi and IIT-Kanpur, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, World Health Organisation, Delhi Pollution Control Board and the Central Pollution Control Board.

"It will take more than just imposing fines on farmers to eliminate the crop burning problem," Centre for Sustainable Agriculture Executive Director Ramanjaneyulu G.V. said.

"This is a policy-driven crisis. The problem of biomass burning is due to mechanisation and cropping patterns. Therefore, simply imposing a ban and a fine for not adhering to the ban does not work. It needs a very comprehensive approach and good support system at the grassroots to create financially viable solution for the farmers," he said.

The National Green Tribunal, in response to a plea by environmentalist Vikrant Tongad, passed a judgement penalising the farmers by imposing fines from Rs 2,500 to Rs 15,000 for burning the crop in open.

Delayed action on the issue of crop burning coupled with lack of enforcement of emission control norms for coal-fired power plants were increasing the number of air pollution-related deaths in Delhi, said an expert.

Many organisations, such as The Health Effects Institute, World Health Organisation, Greenpeace, Public Health Foundation of India and IIT-Delhi have repeatedly highlighted the impact poor air quality can have on human health.

"When it comes to air quality, experience from across the world tells us that a suite of mitigation measures coupled with modern technology, strict regulation with proper enforcement as per the local needs and adequate monitoring network can lead to improved air quality," Sachchida Nand Tripathi of IIT-Kanpur said.

Also participating in the workshop was First Secretary for Energy Affairs with US Embassy Ray Rudweeks, who highlighted that the challenge for India was to pioneer a new path to sustainable development.

Comparing regulations in the US, he said: "For more than 45 years, the clean air act has cut pollution as the US economy has grown. The US experience with the clean air act shows that protecting public health and building the economy can go hand in hand."

"Since 1970, the aggregate national emissions of six pollutants alone dropped by 70 per cent while the nation's GDP grew by 246 per cent," he added.