(a) whether the Government have taken note of mounting pollution in the cities resulting in unprecedent increase in various ailment viz. cancer, breathlessness etc.;
(b) if so, whether the Government have drawn up any plan to carry out indepth study on the co-relationship between air pollution and respiratory diseases;
(c) if so, the details thereof indicating the proposed Environmental Science Research Centres being set up in the country therefor?
MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS (SHRI T. R. BAALU)
(a), (b) & (c) The incidences of respiratory ailments and other diseases have been reported in major cities. However, there is no conclusive data available indicating manifestations of various respiratory ailments like cancer, breathlessness etc. attributable to pollution. The Ministry of Environment and Forests constituted a Committee on Environment and Health to develop appropriate policy, strategy and action plan regarding environmental health. The Report of the Committee has been accepted by the Government. As a follow up of the recommendations, an Environmental Health Cell has been constituted and a number of environmental health studies have been commissioned to generate the data base including cause-effect relationship.