New Delhi: The Centre has doubled the penalties for stubble burning a week after Supreme Court slammed the government’s previous, smaller fines and called them “toothless” amid the growing air pollution in Delhi-NCR.
Now, a Rs 5,000 environmental compensation will be imposed on farmers with less than two acres of land for burning paddy stubble, while those with two to five acres will have to dole out Rs 10,000, and those with more than five acres will have to pay Rs 30,000. Earlier, farmers with less than two acres of land paid Rs 2,500, those with two to five acres of land were fined Rs 5,000 and Rs 15,000 was imposed on farmers with more than five acres.
The air pollution, not just in Delhi-NCR but across north India, has reached monstrous proportions. Yes, stubble burning is one of the key contributing factors. It is one of the villains. But is it the biggest culprit behind the deteriorating Air Quality Index (AQI) levels as it is made out to be? And how far is vehicular pollution responsible for the dismal air quality? Let us take deep look.
Poor AQI in Delhi
The air quality in Delhi-NCR is going from bad to worse. It is posing health hazard. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data indicated that on Wednesday, the AQI level in Delhi was 352, which means it was ‘very poor’. It will cross 400, considered to be ‘severe’ level, in the winter, as it always does. And like each year, quick-fix solutions will be resorted to and knee-jerk measures taken. An increased fine on stubble burning is one of those.
Vehicles increasing PM2.5 level
Burning of paddy stubble is one of the major reasons for the growing pollution in Delhi. However, studies have pointed out that stubble burning does not increase pollution in Delhi as much as the noise created around it.
A recent study carried out by the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Delhi’s air pollution revealed that stubble burning contributes just 8.2% to the pollution in Delhi. And over 30% of the pollution in Delhi is due to local sources, while about 35% of the pollution is due to NCR districts. The study has also revealed that the biggest culprit behind the increasing pollution in Delhi is the smoke-belching vehicles.
Due to the pollution from vehicles, the PM2.5 level in air increases. The vehicular smoke contributes 51.5% in increasing the level of PM2.5 in the air. PM2.5, which is 100 times thinner than a human hair, is considered to be the most dangerous pollutant. PM2.5 is so fine that it gets into our body through the nose and mouth and gets lodged in our heart and lungs.
Public transport is also a big contributor, study shows
The study of CSE shows that activities in residential areas contribute more than 13 percent to the spike in the amount of PM2.5 in the air. After this, industries contribute 11 percent.
Public transport has also hugely contributed to polluting the air. CSE stated in its study that in 2018-19, 781 cases of buses breaking down in the middle of travel were reported. In 2022-23, the number of these cases increased to 1,259.
Besides this, there were less than 1% bus stops in Delhi where the waiting time was less than 10 minutes. At present, the waiting time at more than 50% bus stops is more than 15 minutes. This is a big reason behind people reducing their commute by buses and using their own private vehicles to travel.
Besides, public transport in Delhi is costly for the users, with around 50 per cent of public transport users doling out 18 per cent of their annual income on transit, compared to 12 per cent for private vehicle owners. This cost difference is due to the higher journey times and frequent interchanges required for bus travel, leading to a total cost nearly double that of private transport, the presented data indicated.
Delhi has increased the number of buses, reaching 7,683 buses (including 1,970 electric buses) by July 2024. But it is still far less than the Supreme Court’s 1998 directive to deploy 10,000 buses.
Vehicle boom
According to Delhi government’s Economic Survey 2023-24, over 85 lakh vehicles are registered in the capital. Over 6 lakh new vehicles are registered here every year on an average. More than 1.1 million vehicles enter and exit Delhi every day. Every year, the number of two-wheelers and four-wheelers is growing at a rate of 15%. The maddening traffic caused from this vehicle boom increases pollution, particularly nitrogen oxides (NOx), which account for 81 per cent of NOx pollution in Delhi.
