New Delhi:
The Centre today launched the National Air Quality Index, a system which aims to provide real time information about air quality in our cities. So far, just 246 Indian cities have some level of air quality monitoring, while only 16 cities have real time monitoring. Under the index, which the Centre hopes to evolve over the next few months, all cities with a population of over a million would have air monitoring systems installed.
Under the new system, citizens would also be able to get real time information online about the quality of air they breathe in their cities.
If the air quality falls below a certain level, then alerts would also be issued depending upon the seriousness of the pollution level and the resultant health risks.
In May this year, the World Health Organisation had sounded alarm bells when it ranked Delhi as the city with the worst air quality, even overtaking Beijing which was notorious for its poor air quality. While India has contested the ranking, the Centre admitted pollution levels were a cause of growing concern. Among the biggest culprits is pollution from coal-based power plants and vehicular exhaust.
"We cannot limit the number of cars, that may not be practical, but we can improve and enforce stronger norms to reign in pollution," said Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.
While the system would send out alerts if air quality drops below a certain level, there is little that citizens or even municipalities can currently do - like ordering a temporary shut down of factories or even imposing some restrictions in car usage during periods of peak pollution.
"The hope is that once the reality is out in black and while, citizens would be able to build pressure to take real steps on tackling air pollution," says Aunomita Roy Choudhary, executive director at Delhi-based non-profit, centre for science and environment.
Pollution levels in India are expected to initially rise with the pace of industrialisation and increased power generation particularly from coal-based plants. The hope is that armed with real time data, citizens could help build pressure to control a growing health crisis.