Unfulfilled promise, underutilization of funds, and lax regulations leave patients gasping for breath, with vulnerable children suffering the most

By Ankita Bora

The Chandigarh Pollution Control Board prepared a graded action plan under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) of the central government in 2019 to reduce pollution in the city by 2023. Four years later, as the deadline for the fulfilment of the promise made in the manifesto ends, there is little relief for the children, expecting mothers and old-aged from the rising air pollution in the land locked city. 

11-year-old asthmatic Laxmi Singh Mahato’s family was forced to move out of Chandigarh to Maheshpur village, 14 kms away from the city, as the treatment of her illness took a toll on the family’s finances.

Laxmi, who struggles with her respiratory woes in a small room at Maheshpur village, was diagnosed with Asthma in October 2021 when they lived in sector 32 in Chandigarh. The illness prevented her from going to school as she had to skip nearly 3-4 days a week. “It makes me really sad to fall behind, especially while preparing for the Navodaya entrance test. I am one of the three students shortlisted to sit for the exam in my class,” said Laxmi.

The textbooks and school supplies piled in a corner of Laxmi and her 9-year-old sister’s room formed a mini mountain, each summit promising knowledge and potential.

“It can be hard sometimes. The place where we used to live earlier (sector 32) was near the general hospital and the doctor used to check on (Laxmi) for free,” said Anu, mother to two children, Laxmi and Aaradhya. “When the air is bad, especially after Diwali or during smoggy winters, she used to have trouble breathing. Initially, I used to ask her to go to school forcibly thinking she may be giving an excuse. One day she was all red and huffing. I had to take a leave from work. This is around 2 years ago.”

The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) launched by the Narendra Modi government in 2019 aimed to take effective steps to reduce the level of pollution in 131 cities, apart from the national capital.

“Through concerted action, we will reduce the level of pollution in each of the mission cities by at least 35% over the next five years,” stated the Bharatiya Janata Party Manifesto 2019.

Under the NCAP, the Chandigarh Administration proposed to keep a regular check on burning of solid waste, launching drives for public awareness and taking regular strict action against non-complying industries.

For tackling the issue of air pollution, the Central Pollution Control Committee (CPCC) utilised only Rs.19.61 crore out of Rs.28 crore from the financial year 2019 to 2023, as per Portal for Regulation of Air-pollution in Non-Attainment (PRANA) cities. The financial year 2021-22 witnessed unspent funds of Rs.4.61 crore. The union territory has partially utilised the funds and not adopted all the proposed measures till now related to keeping a “regular check” on industrial emissions and solid waste burning.

“The funds were given to the municipal corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) in 2021 for awareness related activities and procuring mechanical machines for road construction, curtains for CNG plants, and legacy based treatment plants. We have received Rs.28 crore in the past five years, but have only utilised Rs.19.61 crore,” said Sunil Dogra, Central Public Information Officer at (CPCC).

The most contributing source of pollution are the carbon monoxide emissions released by vehicles as per the Air Quality Index (AQI) data, said Dogra. “This isn’t just due to seasonal factors like stubble burning; but also meteorological conditions creating a dome-shaped condition.

The first factor releases a lot of smoke and pollutants into the air, contributing to air pollution, and in the second one, the pollutants get trapped near the ground due to certain weather patterns. Imagine a dome trapping the smoke underneath, preventing it from dispersing,” said Dogra. An email sent to the officials of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India The current concentration of PM2.5 in Chandigarh is 84 (µg/m³).

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends 15 µg/m³ as the threshold concentration of PM2.5 for 24 hrs mean. Currently, the concentration is 3.36 times the recommended limit. As per the National Centre for Disease Control the pollution level at Chandigarh is “Poor” (201-300 category). The constant poor quality in Chandigarh has sent out a distress signal to its citizens as healthcare providers educate their patients. “The most vulnerable among us are the children and the elderly.Their developing lungs and weaker immune systems make them particularly susceptible to respiratory problems aggravated by dirty air, said Dr. Kriti, Emergency Medical Officer at Civil Hospital, sector 22 Chandigarh.

“Huge amount of vehicle traffic in Chandigarh which is leading to air pollution. The issue of smoking is also a major issue, hookah smoking is a problem. AQI is going to worsen. The traffic control should be stricter, work from home measures should be introduced,” said the doctor.

“We are planning to switch to e-buses in the coming months completely, hopefully in March, this year,” said Dogra.

Roughly a fifth of the air pollution problems come from medium and small scale industries, said Aarti Khosla, Environmental Expert, “Nobody talks about them because they are the vote bank. But at thesame time, they are causing a lot of fugitive emissions, which you can’t even count for.”

The small scale industries are a total of about 2950 out of which 40% are ancillary units producing components for the major tractor industry around Chandigarh as per the information mentioned on the Chandigarh Administration website.

“The bottom line really is that unless regulation and policy are not based on scientific explanations, we will never close this gap,” said Khosla,“what our governments are doing is pretty much trying to play to the gallery and develop bandaid solutions which make the PR and optics look good.”

China reduced its air pollution emissions through installing equipment to remove particulate matter and developing innovative financing models and products.

“And I suppose unless you don’t hold the bull by its horn and you take some unpopular measures which will give some kind of results in 5-10 years, the kind of work that China did on industries, for example, I don’t think there will be an answer,” said Khosla.