Shifting capital no solution

Delhi is turning into a gas chamber with the air quality index hitting the hazardous 400-500 'severe plus' category.

- Vivek Chattopadhyay, Principal Programme Manager, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) talks to Surya S Pillai of The Statesman

Delhi is turning into a gas chamber with the air quality index hitting the hazardous 400-500 'severe plus' category. Schools have been shifted to online mode, companies forced to announce work-from-home for their employees, and vehicles face restrictions. Vivek Chattopadhyay, Principal Programme Manager, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) talks to Surya S Pillai of The Statesman about the wider impact of air pollution, lack of political will to curb the menace and how health cost estimation is missing from the conversation surrounding the issue.

Q. Pollution is a crisis at many levels, be it the physical health, financial loss, or the overburdened medical infrastructure. How are we, as a nation, failing to deal with this apocalypse?

A. Today, we have various apparatus to gauge the air quality of a region, be it the AQI (air quality index), monitoring stations or other paraphernalia to get real-time data. However, we are yet to take up the fight against pollution on a mission mode.

Similarly, health cost estimation is not part of the conversation on pollution. There is no concrete data to tell us how many people suffer from asthma or other cardiovascular diseases due to pollution. What is lacking is a holistic approach rather than city or state-specific solutions. This 'one state blaming other state' mindset won't bear fruit in the long run.

Q. Does the pollution issue need a political solution? Is environment degradation a direct result of the inability of our policy makers to address the issue?