NEW DELHI: The city can breathe a little easy. According to a study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on air pollution levels in the city over the past 10 years, the air particulate matter has dropped by 26 per cent. But this is still far from the desired level, says the Central Pollution Control Board.
"Delhi's air is cleaner today," says the study, "But it is still not clean enough. Delhi is still among the 57 most critically polluted cities in the country" and the rising levels of nitrogen oxide is a matter of serious concern.
The only saving grace is that the "Capital is not among the 10 most polluted cities". Surprisingly, small towns like Jalandhar, Raipur, Alwar, Faridabad and Lucknow figure in that list, states the book titled, The Leapfrog Factor: Clearing the Air in Asian Cities.
The CSE study, which was released by chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday, points out that despite the dip in particulate matter, Delhi has reported a 21.3% rise in cases of lung disease, more than 20% increase in asthma attacks and 25% rise in number of heart patients. Besides, over 7% males are suffering from respiratory diseases due to air pollutants.
Says Anumita Roychowdhury, associate director, CSE, "Some cities in India have seen a decline in their pollution levels. In fact, according to a World Bank study, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad have seen about 13,000 less premature deaths due to air pollution-related diseases.
But this evidence of success in a few cities should not make us complacent. In fact, the daily exposure levels to air pollution in these cities have gone up."
Agrees Bhure Lal, a noted environmentalist, "Much of this is to be blamed on the rising number of private vehicles, ill-manged public transport and the standard of diesel."
Says Roychaudhary: "As much as 17 % of the cars in India run in Delhi alone. A car caught in congestion can emit nearly four times more. Cars and two-wheelers take up nearly 90 % of the road space, carry lesser numbers of people and pollute excessively."
The study states that more roads and flyovers will not help as urban planners tend to ignore the fact that "for every 10 % increase in lane-mile capacity, there is a 9 % increase in traffic in Delhi."
The solution lies in upgrading the public transport. Buses still meet nearly 61% of the travel demand, though they occupy a mere 3% of the total traffic.
"Public transport plans of the Delhi government, such as high capacity bus systems, must be implemented urgently and all transport modes should be well integrated for easy access," Roychaudhary adds.
