NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh on Sunday cited the latest World Bank report to underline what he described as a deepening air pollution emergency in the Indo-Gangetic Plains and the Himalayan foothills, questioning how long the Centre would continue to remain in denial as health and economic costs mount.
Referring to the World Bank’s assessment titled ‘A Breath of Change’, Jairam said that the report was comprehensive, evidence-based and unambiguous, and had come at a critical moment.
According to the report, air pollution in the region is now linked to nearly one million premature deaths every year, while causing economic losses estimated at around 10 per cent of the regional GDP annually.
The Congress leader said that the report clearly outlines the measures required to arrest the crisis, including strict enforcement of emission norms for coal-based power plants and the accelerated retirement of the oldest and most polluting units. It also calls for a decisive shift from fragmented, city-centric action plans to legally empowered airshed-based governance frameworks that cut across state boundaries.
The report further emphasises the need for a major expansion and electrification of public transport systems, alongside tighter vehicle emission norms and fuel standards.
Jairam noted that the Indo-Gangetic region has witnessed worsening Air Quality Index levels in recent years, with severe consequences for children, the elderly and those with existing respiratory illnesses.
He said that the Congress had repeatedly flagged the need for structural policy changes, including a comprehensive review of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and the National Ambient Air Quality Standards notified in 2009, with a sharper focus on PM2.5 — the most harmful pollutant linked to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
Jairam also reiterated the party’s demand for a significant expansion of the National Clean Air Programme, with PM2.5 measurements used as the primary benchmark for performance assessment.