Air Pollution Crisis in Delhi
The recurring air pollution crisis in Delhi, especially during winter, involves predictable and temporary solutions such as cloud seeding, smog towers, and odd-even rules. Despite their high visibility, these measures result in minimal long-term impact.
Structural Flaws in India's Air Quality Governance
- The fragmented nature of air-quality governance in India contrasts with other countries like the U.S. and China, where strong national laws have driven progress.
- Responsibilities for air quality are spread across multiple bodies like the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and various Pollution Control Boards, leading to disjointed efforts.
- This fragmentation results in uneven enforcement and contradictions between court orders and local decisions.
Challenges Due to Governance Incentives
The preference for short-term measures is driven by incentives that prioritize visible action over confronting powerful sectors and making politically risky reforms. These measures fit within annual budgets and rarely meet resistance.
Intellectual and Western Traps
- The intellectual trap involves over-reliance on solutions designed by elites disconnected from operational realities, leading to unmanageable policies.
- The Western trap involves importing global practices without adapting them to Indian contexts, leading to ineffective implementations.
Need for India-specific Solutions
- Solutions must be redesigned for India’s administrative and social realities, allowing institutions to plan beyond election cycles and coordinate effectively.
- Clear rules and a modern clean-air law with explicit mandates could provide necessary clarity and coordination.
Building Effective Institutions
- India requires science managers who can adapt scientific insights into practical decisions within governance constraints.
- Alignment between ambition and capacity, and between expert recommendations and institutional enforcement, is crucial for progress.
Conclusion
India must design solutions that reflect its realities and sustain them for effective air quality improvement. The demand for cleaner air is clear, and with the right governance, durable change can be achieved.