‘Air quality to be better this winter than 2017’
Union minister Harsh Vardhan has weathered a storm for insisting that India cannot rely on international estimates for air pollution-related disease and deaths, pushing through a controversial DNA Technology Bill that critics say threatens privacy, getting the country’s top labs to develop “pollution-free” firecrackers, and participating in his neighbourhood Ramlila.
He spoke to HT’S Health & Science Editor
about the controversies and the successes in his ministries’ efforts to make India clean and green.
Edited excerpts:
Sharma Sanchita
Was there pressure from vehicle-manufacturers on the fuel change?
No, there’s no pressure from the industry on banning vehicles not conforming to BS-VI emission norms by April 1, 2020. About three to six months will be provided to automobile manufacturers for the registration of the vehicles manufactured before April 1, 2020, to exhaust the inventory.
No new BS-IV vehicles manufactured before April 1, 2020, will be registered after June 30 (2020). I have requested CSIR (Council for Scientific & Industrial Research) to get all related labs to produce pollution-free crackers. I’m told they have made a significant headway, and they are constantly in touch with the cracker industry. reduction target and timeline can only be with respect to a specific city after reviewing its action plan and capacity.
But a general minimum indicative target for five years for the top 10 most polluted cities to begin with can be indicated in the NCAP based on general international experiences.
~300 crore has been allocated to NCAP for a ‘pollution abatement’ scheme for 2018-19 and 2019-20. The draft memorandum for expenditure has been sent to ministries concerned, including finance, for comments. The approval is yet to come and is subject to appraisal by a competent authority. We do acknowledge that air pollution has significant health impacts that have increasingly been becoming a major environmental challenge. But it is erroneous to refer to it as a major health crisis on modelling-based statistical estimation that has used no direct experimental data. Though various respiratory and other aliments can be attributed to air pollution, there is no concrete field-based experimental study to correlate death with air pollution in the country. The ministry is getting a comprehensive study done on the health impacts of outdoor air pollution on community health. It will be done simultaneously at 20 leading medical centres with the technical support from AIIMS (AllIndia Institute of Medical Sciences), ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research), PGIChandigarh, AMCHSS-THIRUvananthapuram etc. I’d say these fears have been over-addressed. Over the last three years, the bill has been subjected to all sorts of technical scrutiny by stakeholders outside government as well as by the law ministry, home ministry and the high-powered committee headed by the home minister. There is no need to be worried about privacy issues. The bill has been introduced in the Lok Sabha and I sincerely wish it becomes law in the next session. There is as yet no scientific method to assess whether the Taj Mahal is turning yellow or not. Reports indicate that areas of the Taj that have undertaken cleaning using mud packs have regained colour, so it’s incorrect to say the Taj is turning yellow without adequate scientific evidence.
Our ministry had requested ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) to institute a scientific method.
The main concern is air polluting industries. Since particulate matter deposits may make it look somewhat discoloured, there’s a moratorium on orange, red and green (grades of pollution, white industries being the cleanest) industries. Till now, the criticism was why hasn’t it been notified. Now after all sorts of scrutiny— it was put in the public domain, sent to state governments and related stakeholders and all concerned, and their views and comments were incorporated— it’s in the stage where it is being implemented and states are going to be helped. Raising superfluous objections now carries no meaning.
They may be for political reasons. And whenever there is a need, we will address all concerns to everyone’s satisfaction. All of them, but I was particularly happy with the response to the campaign against plastic pollution. With increased awareness, state governments were able to push through new restrictions on single-use plastic.
We’ve streamlined clearance processes, and environmental, CRZ (coastal regulation zone) and forest clearance processes have been moved online. The process is now transparent, speedy and efficient, which in the earlier days was a major hurdle for developmental projects, including strategic projects for national security. District, state authorities and regional offices of the ministry have been empowered to grant clearances to ensure speed and accountability. The average time taken is now around 160 days, down from over 600. The amendment of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, to take bamboo out of the definition of “trees” to encourage farmers to grow bamboo outside forests will enhance their income and give impetus to about 20 million people involved in bamboo-related activities. One tonne of bamboo provides 350 man-days of employment. It is necessary to educate everyone appropriately at a very young age. It is better that young children are informed about various body parts and their functions by their parents and teachers because it will help children discuss questions related to sex and gender with their parents and teachers and get correct answers. It would be disastrous if children get half-baked information from peers or other sources. (Laughs) I regularly visited Ramlilas in Geeta Colony, which was my constituency for 20 years, and once they practically forced me to participate. They assigned me to the role of Janak. Lav Kush (Ramlila committee) heard about it and requested me to play Janak. Since it’s in my parliamentary constituency, I agreed. I’ve gone on stage thousands of time, but only once before to act. I was approached by the party and RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) to join politics in 1993. Since then, till today, I have never, either directly or indirectly, decided what I want to do.
I have always been guided by the decision and the wishes of the party. No, I haven’t.
Not yet?
(Laughs) No not yet about it.