MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)
(a) There are no conclusive data available in the country to establish direct correlation of death/ disease exclusively due to air pollution.Though many studies based on models and simulations have reported estimated numbers of mortality/morbidity due to air pollution, these are based on secondary data and extrapolation of findings based on small sample size to a larger population and therefore, do not depict the actual status. Health effects of air pollution are synergistic manifestation of factors which include food habits, occupational habits, socio-economic status, medical history, immunity, heredity, etc., of the individuals.
(b) The Central Government has taken a number of regulatory measures for prevention, control and abatement of industrial and vehicular pollution like:
• Notification of emission standards for industrial sectors under the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 and their revision from time to time.
• Notification of stricter emission norms for power plants.
• Notifications of 6 waste management rules covering solid waste, plastic waste, e-waste, bio-medical waste, construction &demolition waste and hazardous wastes issued in 2016.
• Badarpur thermal power plant in Delhi has been closed from 15th October, 2018.
• Issuance of directions to 17 categories of highly polluting industries for installation ofOnline Continuous Effluent/ Emission Monitoring System (OCEMS).
• Ban on pet coke and furnace oil - monitoring of use of pet coke in Lime Kilns/CementKilns and Calcium Carbide Industry in Delhi and NCR States.
• Introduction of cleaner / alternate fuels like gaseous fuel (CNG, LPG etc.), ethanol blending.
• Leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI fuel standards.
• Promotion of public transport and improvement in roads and building of more bridges to ease congestion on roads.
• Operationalization of Eastern Peripheral Expressway & Western Peripheral Expressway to divert non-destined traffic from Delhi.
• Streamlining the issuance of Pollution Under Control Certificate.
• Environment Protection Charges (EPC) have been imposed on diesel vehicles with engine capacity of 2000cc and above in Delhi NCR.
(c) & (d) Under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), 102 non-attainment cities have been identified based on ambient air quality data for the period 2011 – 2015. The city specific Action Plans have been prepared which inter-alia include measures for strengthening the monitoring network, reducing vehicular/industrial emissions, increasing public awareness etc. The list of 102 non-attainment cities is at Annexure.
For the cities with million plus population and PM10>90µg/m³, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has earmarked ?10 Crores per city for various components that inter-alia includes installation and commissioning of Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS), creating green buffer zone along the roads, mechanical street sweeper, Mobile Enforcement Unit, water sprinkler, public awareness and capacity building activities. For the cities with population, less than 5 lakhs, funds of ?10 lakhs per city has been allocated and for cities with a population of 5 to10 lakhs, ?20 lakhs per city has been allocated for capacity building and public awareness programs. Further, under NCAP, Committees at State level namely Steering Committee, Monitoring Committee and Implementation Committee have been constituted for effective implementation and monitoring of the city specific action plans to reduce air pollution.
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