Air pollution: Action plan likely to get nod in a week

Mumbai: The much-awaited action plan for curbing air pollution in the city under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) is likely to be approved within a week, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) officials said Thursday.

V.M. Motghare, joint director, Air Control Unit, MPCB, said, “Although the air quality plan for Mumbai has been approved in principle,  it is expected to be fully approved by the Central Pollution Control Board  after due modifications, within seven days.’’

The action plan focuses on regulating emissions from thermal power plants, officials said. Mr Motghare said, “We are on track to install FGDs (flue gas de-sulphurisation units) by 2021, in line with the central government’s directive, though there is deliberation on the need for FGDs to ensure that water stress and gypsum pollution do not increase with the installation of these units.”

A study by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) stated that though Delhi had the highest level of particulate matter, the percentage share of PM2.5 in PM10 was the highest for Mumbai (60 per cent) as compared to Delhi (50 per cent).

Experts highlighted that the toxicity of PM2.5 was far more damaging even if the overall particulate matter was less than that found in Delhi. The study also highlighted that the highest share of PM2.5 in Delhi was only seen in November whereas Mu-mbai had the highest percentage of PM2.5 throughout the year, almost.

Professor S.N. Tripathi, IIT Kanpur and NCAP core committee member, said, “Maharashtra is beginning to reflect the paradoxes of development. Industry, transport, even unregulated wood burning for household cooking in the slums of Mumbai, combined with meteorological factors, has made air pollution a severe public health burden. Focus on industrial clusters, and obtaining a positive response from the industry is crucial for keeping emissions in check.”

‘Contamination could harm Maha economy’s growth’

Apart from causing health problems, the air pollution crisis in Maharashtra could hinder economic growth, said experts.

At a panel discussion Thursday, the experts highlighted that the monetary burden of air pollution i.e. both individual and government expenditure to tackle the effects of pollution, had increased over the years.

As per a compilation report released by Clim-ate Trends at the discussion, “Unknown Hurdles to A Trillion Dollar Eco-nomy”, state constituted 17 per cent of India’s GDP and it aspired to be the first trillion-dollar sub-national economy by 2025. However, as per a World Bank report, air pollution cost Mumbai an eye-popping `76,400 crores in 2015, which was 0.71 per cent of the country’s GDP that year.

According to the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), the total monetary burden of air pollution for Mumbai was estimated at `452.3 crore for a 50 microgram per cubic metre increase in PM10, and `872.6 crore for a similar increase in NO2, while the overall burden from increase in all pollutants was more across the state.
“We have cleaned up our fuel and there’s been a sea change from the early 90s in terms of fuel standardisation, especially with regards to two-wheeler standards in India that are among the most stringent in the world. But we do need to focus on our urban planning to reduce emissions due to unplanned pedestrian movement, traffic snarls and poor parking infrastructure,” said Rakesh Kumar, director, NEERI.