Why in the News?

India’s air pollution crisis is no longer just a seasonal inconvenience. Hospitals overflow with respiratory cases, schools shut down, cities disappear under layers of smog, and Indian metros regularly top global pollution rankings.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Introduction (Context, Major Initiatives Taken by Govt, etc.)
• Present Scenario (Structural Challenges, Funding Gaps, Solutions, Way Forward, etc.)

Introduction:

• India’s air pollution crisis is no longer confined to seasonal spikes during winter.
• It has evolved into a persistent public health emergency that deeply affects millions every year.
• From clogged hospitals to school closures and invisible skylines over major cities, the impact of air pollution touches nearly every aspect of life.
• Despite a slew of government interventions, India’s response remains disjointed and inconsistent, risking the country’s long-term environmental and human well-being.

Major Initiatives to Combat Air Pollution:

• India has introduced several flagship programs to tackle air pollution:
  • National Clean Air Programme (NCAP): Launched in 2019, it aims to reduce PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in 132 cities by 20-30% by 2026 (base year 2017).
  • Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI): Strict vehicular emission norms introduced in 2020.
  • Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY): Promotes LPG usage among rural households to reduce dependence on biomass fuels.
  • Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME II): Boosts the electric vehicle ecosystem.
  • Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban): Addresses waste management, a key contributor to air pollution in urban areas.
• While these schemes are steps in the right direction, they need better coordination and monitoring to deliver lasting impact.

Structural Challenges on the Ground:

• Air pollution in India is not just a technical issue, it’s a complex socio-political and economic challenge.
• Governance constraints, outdated municipal infrastructure, and a lack of coordination between agencies all make pollution control a monumental task.
• Municipal bodies, the ones closest to pollution sources, often lack both resources and authority.
• Their mandates are rarely aligned with national air quality goals. The PM2.5 reduction target by 2026 will be unachievable without a strong ground-level machinery that connects policy with implementation.

A Case for Localized, Data-Driven Solutions:

• Effective mitigation requires a deeper understanding of local conditions. For example, simply saying “vehicles cause pollution” isn’t enough. Policymakers must ask:
  • What types of vehicles are used?
  • What fuels power them?
  • How old are these vehicles?
  • What is the traffic density and pattern?
• Unless emission sources are mapped with this level of granularity, local governments cannot prepare actionable plans.
• A phased and data-driven approach is the need of the hour:
  • Phase I: Develop local emission profiles.
  • Phase II: Tie funding directly to action points based on emission data.
  • Phase III: Track emissions reductions, not just ambient pollution levels, to evaluate success.

Funding and Implementation Gaps:

• India’s clean air financing still lags behind. Compared to China’s ₹22 lakh crore budget for five years, India’s NCAP funding is a fraction.
• Even when related schemes (like PMUY, FAME II, Swachh Bharat) are included, utilization of funds remains poor.
• Between 2019 and 2023, only 60% of NCAP funds were utilized, a symptom of institutional misalignment more than lack of intent.
• Moreover, reliance on ambient air quality data is misleading. Pollution readings are often influenced by seasonal weather patterns.
• A better metric would be activity-based, such as the number of biomass stoves replaced or the number of diesel buses retired.

Avoiding High-Tech Overdependence:

• There is a growing risk of over-reliance on digital dashboards, smog towers, and AI-based monitoring tools.
• While helpful, these cannot substitute basic structural reforms. If pollution from open biomass burning, outdated industrial processes, and old vehicles remains unchecked, no amount of technology will help.
• This also creates urban bias, where high-tech solutions benefit metro cities while rural and semi-urban areas remain neglected. Elite capture of clean air resources must be avoided.

Global Examples and India’s Path Forward:

• Countries like China, Brazil, and the U.S. provide lessons:
  • China: Shut down coal plants at a massive scale.
  • Brazil: Empowered communities to manage waste systems.
  • California: Reinvested pollution revenue in marginalized communities.
  • London: Banned coal-use first before installing high-tech air sensors.
• India must carve its own path, one that is grounded in federalism, sensitive to its large informal sector, and focused on behavioural change.