Karnataka govt. unveils digital grievance portal for gig workers

Clearing the air on Delhi’s pollution crisis

The population of the city and the surrounding area significantly contributes to year-round toxicity because of vehicular emissions and traffic congestion

इस आर्टिकल में 

1. क्या पहले कुछ प्रयास किये गए ? 
2. The Supreme Court says 
3. हरियाना और पंजाब के किसान की समस्याएं।  
4. चीन से क्या सीख सकते हैं ? 
5. Delhi is facing the classic bureaucratic response   

क्या पहले कुछ प्रयास किये गए ? 

भारत की तरफ से दिल्ली के लिए 

Since 1984, when M.C. Mehta filed a public interest litigation petition, there has been a flurry of activity to combat air pollution beginning in October and then a long lull / blank space . A lot has been achieved, but the growing economy and population have outpaced these measures. 

लॉस एंजेल्स के प्रयास 

Los Angeles established its air pollution control programme in 1947 and currently remains among the worst in the U.S., both for PM 2.5 and ozone. 

ग्रीन ट्रिब्यूनल की तरफ से प्रयास 

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) began the process of taking a new look at an old problem by asking the government to list the causes of air pollution.

National Clean Air Programme 

launched in 2019 with its “collaborative and participatory approach,” focus on 

1. monitoring, 
2. set targets,
3.  emergency measures, 
4. and inclusion of international organisations, but has made minimal impact.

The Supreme Court says 

right to a clean environment and good health is an inherent part of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty. 

This is the context of judicial review moving from guiding government decisions to implementing them.

The court has asked questions: 

despite compliance reports why results on the ground are negligible and what the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), set up in 2021, is doing? 

कौन significantly contributes करता है ?  

The population of the city and the surrounding area significantly contributes to year-round toxicity because of vehicular emissions and traffic congestion. 

विज्ञानं के हिसाब से कैसे हो रहा प्रदुषण ? 

Due to sunlight and low temperatures, a photochemical reaction combines hydrocarbons from the partially unburned exhaust of automobiles with nitrogen oxides, a combustion by-product, to form ozone. This concentration of particulate matter (PM 2.5) causes serious health problems.

Dispersed sources

कौन से सोर्स से कितना प्रदुषण हो रहा ? 

In Delhi, Los Angeles, and Beijing, 60% of toxicity comes from vehicles. Another 20% comes from soil dust and less than 20% is from other sources. 

Stubble burning is temporary and official data show its share in Delhi’s PM 2.5 was less than 1% on October 17, prompting the Delhi government to set up committees for dust control.

But  legislating new technology and enforcing stringent prosecution — does not work

For example, 35 years ago, when new vehicle emission standards were being discussed, Rahul Bajaj argued that his foreign collaborator was not parting with technology and that he needed two years to develop his own.

हरियाना और पंजाब के किसान की समस्याएं 

Today, the farmers of Haryana and Punjab are in a worse situation. To conserve groundwater, they are required to delay sowing, reducing the time between harvesting and planting the next crop, and technological solutions have not worked.

 Haryana and Punjab being pushed to bear the burden of providing clean air to Delhi, even as Delhi itself is not being similarly prodded.

Delhi is facing the classic bureaucratic response 

Cosmetic steps, unverified claims, statistical compliance, and shifting responsibility, were earlier noted by the NGT. This raises the question of whether the CAQM can discharge a political function for the needed hard choices.

चीन से क्या सीख सकते हैं ? 

A review of Beijing’s approach to controlling air pollution by the United Nations Environment Programme provides useful lessons. 

The population sizes of both cities are comparable, and Delhi shares with Beijing, and other cities, the three stages of dealing with urban air pollution as a long-term task. 

It begins with 

gradually moving to integrated measures targeting primary pollutants, with the government playing the main role. 

Later, the focus shifts to secondary pollutants, or particulate matter leading to toxic smog, primarily PM2.5, which requires a regional mechanism, our current stage

The UN review points 

to Beijing’s techno-political management system, which builds public awareness to deal with toxicity. 

First, forecasting 

severe smog levels through warnings issued at least 24 hours in advance with over 1000 PM 2.5 sensors throughout the city to accurately monitor high-emission areas and periods. 

Second low-floor buses 

Beijing has over 30,000 low-floor buses, five times the number operated by Delhi Transport Corporation. 

Third as transit centres with no peak-hour traffic 

both Beijing and Delhi, as transit centres with no peak-hour traffic, require additional measures to manage regional transportation.

कोर्ट की भूमिका 

The Court should be mandating the Graded Response Action Plan and the preparation of a toxicity management plan for the national capital and surrounding areas with budgetary allocations and political endorsement rather than episodic prosecution of farmers or requiring smog towers.

source the hindu