Diwali – a festival which has everyone merry and has a night filled with colours and sounds. However, the next day the city of Delhi has extremely low visibility courtesy smog. This then continued for 5 more days with pollution levels being extremely high. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Delhi government to convene an emergency meeting and discuss measures for immediate pollution abatement. It has also asked the government to come out with a notification, highlighting measures it has already taken to control the increase in pollution.

“What is the status of air pollution? All you can say is that there is no pollution… All stakeholders who are dealing with pollution indicate that Delhi is highly polluted. The levels of PM2.5 and PM10 are beyond prescribed limits. We cannot permit such a state of affairs causing serious environmental pollution to prevail,” said the bench.

A day after Diwali, the levels of particulate matter (PM) 10 and 2.5 in Delhi were recorded at severe levels of 836.1μg/m³ (over eight times the safe limit) and 624.2μg/m³ (nearly 10 times the safe limit) on Monday evening, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) of the Union ministry of earth sciences. The safe limit of PM 10 is 100μg/m³ and PM 2.5 is 60μg/m³, which means Delhi on Monday witnessed nearly eight times the level of PM 10 and PM 2.5—the deadliest components of air pollution. These fine particles can settle deep in the lungs and be absorbed in the bloodstream, which can lead to respiratory problems, cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer.

The data shows that pollution levels this Diwali were far more dangerous than those recorded last year. As per SAFAR data, last year after Diwali, the PM 2.5 levels were 428μg/m³—nearly six times the safe limit. However, it is just not the crackers that are contributing to this. Vehicular pollution and waste disposal by burning have been major factors for air pollution, despite a blanket ban by the NGT for burning waste. The Delhi government however blamed fires in the fields arising out of agricultural residue burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana for the foul air quality in the Capital this Diwali.

A government release states that it has reviewed the air quality of the city on the eve of Diwali and found NASA satellite images of October 26 that show fires raging in the fields of Punjab and Haryana due to burning of agricultural residue. The smoke from the fires is causing haze across North India, including Delhi.

“Agricultural fires in the fields of neighbouring states, particularly Punjab and Haryana, are a major contributor in the deterioration of ambient air quality, which will suffer due to inversion and calm meteorological conditions currently prevailing,” an environment department official said.

This statement however, is stated after the NGT pulled up the neighbouring states for being unable to check large-scale burning of crop stubble. A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar on Friday directed them Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to file affidavits detailing steps taken by them for implementation to avoid crop burning.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that the government will tackle the problem, and announced a few measures to curb air pollution. Saying that dust is a major contributor to air pollution, Sisodia said that various dust control measures such as vacuum cleaning of roads, sprinkling water through jets, and installation of air purifiers and mist fountains will be undertaken.

IIT Kanpur compiled a report which has not been released yet, but sources said it has mapped Delhi based on pollution levels. “The city has been divided into grids and areas have been marked based on locational variation in pollution load. This report will form a basis for the recommendations by the committee but there are other factors that will be considered as well,” said a source. “Realtime monitoring of air pollution is also being done-in six locations by DPCC and another 10 by SAFAR. This will give an idea of some critical areas, although if it is felt that some other places are vulnerable too, a quick sampling from them can also be carried out.

A committee has been created under the order of the NGT which will list areas according to priority and then prepare an action plan. Areas like Anand Vihar and Civil Lines are likely to be covered. Anand Vihar, an area bordering Delhi and Uttar Pradesh with an inter-state bus terminus, had PM10 levels of 940g/m3 against a standard of 100, and PM2.5 levels of 229g/m3. A residential area like RK Puram, which is seeing massive construction activity at present, had PM 10 levels of 569g/m3 and PM 2.5 levels of 257g/m3. However, the civil authorities seem to be in denial regardless of citizens suffering. This year we’ve had dengue, chikungunya, viral fever- all due to lack of basic sanitation.

All this has resulted is another blame game. It is unfair as to how the officials of the MCD, Jal Board, PWD and other such organisations hold no accountability and get away with no punishment.

Fogging is not done on time; drains are not cleaned properly and the ones that are cleaned clog up soon as the rubble and silt are never picked up. Same with garbage; sweepers are missing; garbage trucks that should come every day do not; authorities can’t find new landfills; filth piles up in every colony and citizens suffer silently.

The NGT hauls up the civic authorities, who are blatantly non-committal and push the blame on others. In fact, it is shocking to hear that MCD workers burned the Durga Puja waste on the banks of the Yamuna when the NGT especially gave orders that no burning of any kind should be allowed in the National Capital Region. This shows how relaxed the MCD is regardless of the law laid down.

We must look at China as a model for solving this problem of air pollution. In 2013, after rapid economic expansion in China, the capital city Beijing began to choke on the dust from construction sites and car exhausts. Its skies turned grey, and people hid behind masks. However, China did wake up and came up with a warning system determining the air quality.

Its new colour-coded index put state authorities on alert, where a string of safety measures would come into effect to stop the air quality from further deterioration. In 2015, when the state was put on its highest alert (RED), schools were shut down, construction activity came to a grinding halt, and vehicles stayed off roads based on their registration numbers (odd or even).

Where Delhi fails is that it doesn’t have an efficient system in place to check the rising levels of pollution. On Wednesday, two days after Diwali, the particulate matter in Delhi raised to an astonishing 743 on the air quality index. No advisories, advising residents to stay indoors, were issued by the Delhi government so far on the alarming levels of pollution. Schools and offices reopened on Wednesday, after a long weekend, and have been functioning normally. Air pollution is one thing that the Delhi government cannot shift the blame to the Centre. The problem needs immediate attention. The problem needs urgent attention as winter is coming and the watch must resume.