Congress targets Centre over air pollution, calls for long-term action

Asserting that India simply cannot afford to pollute its way to prosperity the Congress on Monday said increased pollution need not and must not be the price the people are compelled to pay for faster growth reported news agency PTIThe opposition party also stressed that the Graded Response Action Plans GRAPs cannot remain the dominant focus of cleanair actionIn a statement Congress general secretary incharge communications Jairam Ramesh said these plans are essentially reactive with the emphasis being on crisis management and not crisis avoidanceWe need tough multisectoral actions with scale and speed round the year and not just in the winter OctoberDecember months Ramesh said reported PTIOn December 9 2025 the Modi Government declared in the Rajya Sabha that there is no conclusive data available in the country to establish direct correlation of deathdisease exclusively due to air pollution he saidThis is the second time that it has shown shocking insensitivity by denying that air pollution contributes to mortality or morbidity It had previously made the same claim on 29th July 2024 also in the Rajya Sabha Ramesh said reported PTIThe most recent publicly available scientific evidence reveals that in early July 2024 a study published in the prestigious Lancet journal showed that 72 per cent of all deaths in India are associated with air pollution about 34000 deaths each year in just 10 citiesThe evidence also reveals that in August 2024 a study by the Mumbaibased International Institute of Population Sciences used government data from the National Family and Health Survey NFHS V to show that in districts where air pollution exceeds National Ambient Air Quality Standards NAAOS there is a 13 per cent increase in premature mortality for adults and around 100 per cent increase in mortality for children Ramesh saidIn December 2024 a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health estimated that longterm exposure to polluted air contributes to roughly 15 lakh additional deaths in India each year compared with a scenario in which the country met the World Health Organizations WHO recommended safeexposure limits he said reported PTIIn November 2025 a report prepared by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington USA found that about 2 million deaths in India were linked to air pollutiona 43 per cent jump since the year 2000 Ramesh saidAbout 70 per cent of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease deaths were on account of air pollution he saidThe National Ambient Air Quality Standards NAAQS were last promulgated in November 2009 after wide consultations Ramesh saidThey were considered progressive then But today it needs to be updated and more importantly ruthlessly enforced The present standard for PM25 is 8 times the WHO guideline for annual exposure and 4 times the guideline for 24hour exposure he said reported PTIDespite the launch of the National Clear Air Programme NCAP in 2017 PM25 levels have continued to rise and every single Indian lives in areas where these levels far exceed the WHO guidelines he said adding that the NCAP itself needs an overhaulGRAPs cannot remain the dominant focus of cleanair action Jairam RameshThe Graded Response Action Plans GRAPs cannot remain the dominant focus of cleanair action These plans are essentially reactive with the emphasis being on crisis management and not crisis avoidance Ramesh saidWe need tough multisectoral actions with scale and speed round the year and not just in the winter OctoberDecember months The Air Pollution Control and Prevention Act 1981 that was more than adequate for four decades now may itself need to be revisited since a public health emergency was not the background to the enactment of that law he said reported PTIThe National Green Tribunal established in October 2010 by an Act of Parliament with the support of all political parties has sadly been emasculated over the past decade and needs a fresh and renewed lease of life Ramesh claimedHe said emission norms that have been relaxed for power plants and other changes made in laws and regulations need to be rolled backIndia simply cannot afford to pollute its way to prosperity Increased pollution need not and must not be the price the people of the country are compelled to pay for faster growth Ramesh said reported PTIDelhi choked under a thick blanket of smog on Monday with the Air Quality Index AQI settling at 498 which falls in the higher spectrum of severe categoryWith inputs from PTI