Air pollution is responsible for many health problems in urban areas. A report published in the medical journal, ‘Lancet’ says that the pollutant PM2.5 (particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 micrometer) alone killed five lakh Indians in the year 2015. The PM level had climbed to 778 in Delhi-NCR and 824 in Delhi this summer, demonstrating that severe air pollution is a "summer-time problem" too.  The World Health Organization has stated that half of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are in India. It reports that the air quality of places like Gwalior, Allahabad or Patna is worse than Delhi’s.

Of late, policy measures in prevention and control of air pollution in Delhi have undergone many changes.  Concerning policy measures, most of the time responsibility of controlling pollution in Delhi is tilted towards the Government of NCT of Delhi with no defined role for local bodies which actually are implementers on the ground for prevention and control of Air pollution in Delhi. The same approach of placing little onus on local bodies has been continued in the recently launched National Clean Air Programme and Draft Implementation Plan for Delhi – NCR for improving  the air quality. The   programme is really appreciable in terms of providing framework, concerted efforts for air quality data collection across various cities, increasing the number of air quality monitoring stations and triggering actions on the basis of transparent data analytics systems based Air Quality Index. However, the programme has over looked the role of Municipal Corporations in Delhi in its proposed institutional framework while assigning greater responsibility to the State Government

The findings of, ‘Pollution Source Apportionment Study’ in Delhi , which provides an assessment of the extent of contribution of air pollution sources ,reveals that  vehicular pollutants, road dust, construction material, soil waste burning  are major contributors to high level of  PM 2.5 and PM 10  in Delhi  .   The findings of the “Source Appropriation Study” underscore that the significant air pollution sources can be controlled through existing Municipal Services in Delhi. For example, Controlling entry of diesel fueled trucks at Delhi border, levying pollution tax, regulating electric vehicles( EVs), dust control during street sweeping, decision on parking charges , constructing  multilevel parking equipped with charging point for EVs, licensing carriages last mile connecting with Public transport, setting up waste- to- energy plants, landfill management, decentralized solid waste management , disposal of construction and demolition waste  etc. are under the ambit of municipal Functions which are  directly impacting   prevention and control of air pollution in Delhi.

Understandably, corporations may require additional resources for financing the implementation of preventive measures such as using  road sweeping machines and water sprinklers machines to avoid road dust,  manpower deployment, wheeled  loaders for road & pavement repair, decentralized solid waste management, management of land fill sites, installation of waste to energy plants etc. Municipal Corporations are collecting Environment Compensation Charges (ECC) with effect from November 2015 from trucks entering Delhi on the direction of Honorable Supreme Court of India. Around Rs. 1095 crore have been collected under ECC fund since its imposition and an amount of 923 crore has been transferred to Transport Department.

According to media reports ECC fund remained unutilized by the Delhi Government due to lack of clarity on guidelines of its utilization. As a measure to strengthen the financial position of Corporations, a share of ECC fund should be provided to Municipal Corporations in Delhi.

To conclude, whether at the national or state level, governance for ensuring good air quality in a city like Delhi cannot be met without engaging Municipal Corporation. However, the role of municipal corporations needs to be clearly defined in the policy for prevention and control of air pollution rather than merely giving them the role of agent.  Provisions of financial resources is essential, especially for small, financially and structurally weak municipal corporations in cities like Gwalior, Allahabad or Patna with air quality worse than Delhi’s and to make National Clean Air Programme a success.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author, and don’t necessarily reflect the position of CBGA. You can reach Jyotsna Goel at jyotsna@cbgaindia.org.