Uma Karve Chakranarayan

Pune, May 18: IT is no secret that Pune is one of the most polluted cities in the country, but what is worrying is that the pollution levels have reached alarming levels. The culprit, according to Centre for Science & Environment (CSE), is vehicular pollution.

‘‘It is worrying that Pune with 3.7 million people already has 0.9 million vehicles and it adds close to 10,000 vehicles every month. It will be a mistake if Pune fails to build public transport immediately. Stringent measures to control it are a must,’’ says CSE associate director Anumita Roychowdhury.

The impact of vehicular pollution has been severe. ‘‘Pune is among the few cities in the country where nitrogen dioxide levels have risen significantly and exceeded standards in recent years. High level of particulate matter in combination with high nitrogen dioxide levels points towards vehicular pollution,’’ she explains.

In fact, CSE’s book — The Leapfrog Factor: Clearing the Air in Asian Cities which will be released in Mumbai on Friday — points out that Pune is one of the cities with consistent high PM 10 levels (particulate matter less than 10 micron size).

‘‘Congestion and pollution have already begun to choke Pune, which is already amidst a massive urban boom,’’ says Roychowdhury. However, Mumbai scores ‘‘somewhat better’’ on the pollution levels. ‘‘They are on a downward trend (in Mumbai), but despite having a great transport system, they are high at traffic intersections.’’

Pointing to a World Bank study, Roychowdhury says cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad where the pollution levels have come down has also seen 13,000 less premature deaths per year due to pollution-related diseases. ‘‘Of these, 5,308 premature deaths have been saved in Mumbai alone,’’ she says.

In fact, the book says that 57 per cent of the cities that were studied have critical PM 10 levels and smaller cities are more polluted than even the metros. ‘‘Even Solapur has high pollution levels,’’ says Roychowdhury.

The reason, according to her, is new pollution challenge has surfaced that requires consistent, sustained and aggressive action. ‘‘The solution to vehicular pollution is not increasing roads and flyovers,’’ she says.

Besides pointing out the factors for rising pollution levels in the country, the book also shows a way forward. ‘‘Cities need clean vehicle technologies, clean fuels, fiscal measures to combat pollution where properly designed taxes (road, congestion taxes etc) can not only augment government revenue and generate funds for transport management, but can also go a long way in reducing congestion,’’ Roychowdhury adds.

That could give us our breath of fresh air.

years earlier

The CSE published its first book on air pollution — Slow Murder: The Deadly Story of Vehicular Pollution in India — 10 years ago. ‘‘The most compelling motivation was to understand the public health challenge of air pollution and how to address it. Our ‘Right to Clean Air’ campaign was launched immediately after the first book in 1996. After 10 years, this book captures the new challenge,’’ says Anumita Roychowdhury.