Air pollution crisis in focus ahead of Delhi's election

Toxic air in India’s capital, population more than 33 million, has become a key political issue,

- Stuti Mishra

Vibha Chawla never paid much attention to air pollution. But when her elderly mother almost died of a severe coughing fit during the Diwali holidays late last year, she decided to act.

Chawla, a 50-year-old resident of Delhi's affluent Siri Fort area, barged into a meeting where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was preparing its manifesto for the upcoming election in the capital, where she says she was one of the few voices to raise the issue of air pollution. “I stood up and said, ‘We’re choking here and no one is talking about it.’ Some people nodded, but I could tell most just didn’t care,” she tells The Independent.

Chawla wasn’t surprised – although much of northern India remains blanketed in a toxic haze for months every year, pollution has rarely been a major issue in the country’s elections. But with Delhi going to the polls for important state assembly elections on 5 February, things are changing, and air pollution is finally finding its way into political debates and manifestos.

Politicians going door-to-door to canvass votes are being forced to answer questions about the toxic air that continues to surround the city. But the solutions they are promising, experts say, barely scratch the surface of the problem.

The city, home to some 33 million people, has long struggled with hazardous air. The air quality index this winter repeatedly rose above 1,000, more than 15 times the level considered safe by the World Health Organisation. Yet public discourse around pollution has been overshadowed by issues like water and power shortages and corruption.

In recent weeks, however, faced with mounting public pressure and undeniable health impacts, politicians have been forced to talk about it.