Tormented City

In an affidavit filed before the National Green Tribunal, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee averred that the city was dependent only on seasonal factors to reduce air pollution and the two smog towers at Connaught Place and Anand Vihar had little effect on air quality in surrounding areas and at least 40,000 smog towers would be required if these were to be used to reduce air pollution. The demand for artificial rain in Delhi cooled down after cloud seeding-induced floods in Dubai and snowfall in Saudi Arabia

- DEVENDRA SAKSENA

Fifty years ago, Delhi was a pristine place, not yet discovered by the nouveau riche. Derided as an ‘overgrown village’ by Bombayites, it had broad roads, little traffic, a surfeit of trees and most importantly clean, fresh air. On the flip side it had rude auto drivers, overcrowded buses and markets that shut down by 8 pm.

Both perception and reality underwent a drastic change in the aftermath of the Asian Games in 1982. By 1990, a perpetually-in-ahurry culture had subsumed the sleepy character of Delhi. With millions flocking to Gurgaon, Noida and Faridabad from the backwoods of UP, Bihar, Haryana and Punjab, the satellite towns of Delhi became one with the city, putting unbearable strain on its resources. Pollutants from wood and coal burning, new factories, untreated industrial waste, and increasing vehicular traffic made the city’s environment wholly unhealthy.

Environmentalist M.C Mehta filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court against the Union of India in 1985 claiming that existing environmental laws obliged the government to reduce air pollution that had impacted public health adversely. After obtaining opinions of fact-finding commissions and the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Supreme Court concluded that heavy vehicles ~ trucks, buses and defence vehicles ~ were the principal polluters.