Question : DEATHS DUE TO POLLUTION

(a) whether any study has been conducted to co-relate excessive deaths occurring in major cities of the country on account of environmental pollution;

(b) if so, the details thereof alongwith the percentage of the total annual increase in the environmental pollution during the last two years in the metropolitan cities;

(c) the strategy being formulated by the Government to gear up the measures for controlling environmental pollution; and

(d) the details of the steps taken/proposed to be taken in this regard alongwith the progress made by the Government so far?

MINISTER OF THE STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT & FORESTS (SHRI A. RAJA)

(a) to (d) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (A),(B),(C) & (D) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 180 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.12.2006 REGARDING DEATHS DUE TO POLLUTION BY SHRI N.S.V. CHITTHAN & SHRI CHANDRAKANT KHAIRE

(a) & (b) Studies carried out by various institutions in some major cities on environmental pollution and health effects provide no conclusive scientific evidence to establish cause-effect relationship between environmental pollution and incidences of mortality.

Annual ambient levels of sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen in the metropolitan cities are well within the prescribed standards for residential areas except for respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) which have exceeded the limit in Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi but are below the standard in Chennai during the last two years as may be seen from the graph (Annexure). About 60% of the RSPM in Delhi is natural dust.

(c) & (d): Strategies adopted and measures taken to control pollution include comprehensive policy for abatement of pollution, supply of improved auto-fuel including CNG and LPG, tightening of vehicular and industrial emission norms, mandatory environmental clearance for specified industries, management of municipal and bio-medical wastes, promotion of cleaner technologies, strengthening of air and water quality monitoring stations, assessment of pollution load & source apportionment studies, preparation and implementation of action plans for major cities and critically polluted areas.

As a result of various measures taken, the air pollution load and water pollution load in terms of bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD) have come down significantly.

Annexure

Trend in Ambient Air Quality (Annual average concentration in micrograms per cubic metre)

a) Trend in Sulphur dioxide (SO2) levels

b) Trend in Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels

C) Trend in Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM)

NB: National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Residential Areas (Annual average) for SO2,NO2 and RSPM = 60 micrograms per cubic metre.