9
4. EXCESSIVE BURNING OF FIRECRACKERS
6. DEFORESTATION AS A DIRECT RESULT OF URBANISATION
Bursting of firecrackers during festivals also results in emissions of large amounts of particulate matter and poisonous gases in the air. These activities take place during the winter season when low pressure conditions slow down pollutant dispersal. In a recent case, 15 the Supreme Court banned the production and sale of all crackers except for ‘Green Crackers’, which are low emission firecrackers. Challenges remain in implementing such orders and ensuring strict compliance mechanisms.
In a recent study conducted by the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, the predominant driver of pollution-linked healthemergenciesinDelhieverywinterhas been crop burning in neighbouring states. 18 Crop burning is a recent phenomenon in the region, precipitated by increased mechanisation of harvesting (leading to crop stubbles) and shorter cropping cycles. 19 In addition, another contributing factor is the deforestation of the Aravalli Range which experts 20 believe will lead to a series of ecological disasters in the wider area. Rampant real-estate activity and illegal mining has adversely affected the Aravalli Range. In fact, the state government was recently servedanotice by theNational Commission for Human Rights, demanding that protection be given to the Aravalli Range in the wake of powerful dust-storms that hit Delhi in June 2018. These dust storms led to a serious spike in levels of air pollution. The notice was served as the open forest cover in the Aravalli Range has decreased severely in the last three decades.
5. CONSTRUCTION AND ROAD DUST
In a 2016 study it was found that road dust contributed to 38% of Delhi’s air pollution, Initiatives are in place to try to minimise dust, such as creating vegetative buffers, street sweeping, sprinkling water on construction sites and better maintenance of roads and pathways. 17
15 Arjun Gopal v. Union of India, 2018 (14) SCALE 209 16 https://www.analyticsvidhya.com/blog/2016/10/complete-study-of-factors-contributing-to-air-pollution/ 17 http://www.epca.org.in/EPCA-Reports1999-1917/Final-EPCA-Report-71-CAP-for-Delhi-NCR.pdf 18 Quantifying the influence of agricultural fires in northwest India on urban air pollution in Delhi, India available at http://acmg.seas.harvard.edu/publications/2018/cusworth_2018_india.pdf 19 Strategies to reduce crop residue burning for air pollution mitigation: Key highlights by Centre for Science and Environment available at https://cdn.cseindia.org/userfiles/strategies-mitigation.pdf 20 As per Colonel (retired) S S Oberoi, a Delhi-based environmental activist and legal expert, who has filed petitions in the Human Rights Court upholding the protection of the environment
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