Lok Sabha Question No. 4291 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-28
Subject: Air Pollution in Rural Areas
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: VIRENDRA  KUMAR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4291

TO BE ANSWERED ON 28.03.2017

## Air Pollution in Rural Areas

## 4291. DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  air  pollution  is  going  up  in  rural  areas  of  the  country  due  to  expansion  of industries;
- (b) if so, whether any study has been conducted regarding the affects of air pollution in the rural areas;
- (c) if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the steps being taken by the Government to create awareness amongst the common man regarding air pollution in the rural areas?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ANIL MADHAV DAVE)

- (a) The  air  quality  in  the  country  is  assessed  under  National  Air  Quality  Monitoring Programme  (NAMP)  through  a  network  comprising  of  680  operating  monitoring  stations located in 300 cities/towns all across the country.  The monitoring network does not cover rural areas in general.  However, four ambient air quality monitoring stations have been setup under NAMP in rural areas of Punjab.  Air quality data for last four years for these stations is annexed. The trend indicates that values of SO2 and NO2 in terms of annual standards were within the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 50 µg/m 3 and 40 µg/m 3 and PM10 exceeded the national standard value of 60 µg/m 3 .  However, the data does not indicate specific increase of pollution during the years.

(b) & (c) No  specific  study  has  been  carried  out  in  recent  time  by  Ministry  of Environment Forest and Climate Change regarding effects of air pollution in rural areas.

- (d) In order to raise awareness regarding air pollution including in rural areas, Government  has  launched  the  National  Air  Quality  Index  (AQI).  The  AQI  transforms complex air quality data of various pollutants into single number, nomenclature and colour; for  effective  communication  of  air  quality  status  to  people  in  terms,  which  are  easy  to understand. There are six AQI categories namely Good, Satisfactory, Moderately Polluted, Poor, Very Poor and Severe. Each of these categories is based on ambient concentration of air  pollutants  and  their  likely  health  impacts.    AQI  takes  into  account  values  of  eight pollutants  viz.  PM10,  PM2.5, Sulphur  Dioxide,  Nitrogen  Dioxide,  Lead,  Ozone,  Carbon Monoxide and Ammonia for which short term (upto 24 hrs) National Ambient Air Quality Standards are prescribed.  Based on the measured ambient concentrations of pollutants, AQI is calculated.

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## ANNEXURE

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARA  (a)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4291 DUE FOR REPLY ON 28.03.2017 REGARDING 'AIR POLLUTION IN RURAL AREAS' BY DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR, HON'BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT

## Status of Ambient Air Quality in Rural Areas

(Concentration in microgram per cubic meter)

| S. No.   | Name of the Station     | City/Town            | No. of stations   | 2012   | 2012   | 2012   | 2013   | 2013   | 2013   | 2014   | 2014   | 2014   | 2015   | 2015   | 2015   |
|----------|-------------------------|----------------------|-------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| S. No.   | Name of the Station     | City/Town            | No. of stations   | SO2    | NO2    | PM10   | SO2    | NO2    | PM1 0  | SO2    | NO2    | PM1 0  | SO2    | NO 2   | PM10   |
| 1        | GurudwaraG angsar Sahib | Sangrur              | 1                 | -      | 22     | 165    | -      | 15     | 97     | 4      | 12     | 88     | 5      | 13     | 100    |
| 2        | Basti/Guru Ki Dhaab     | Faridkot             | 1                 | -      | 12     | 122    | 6      | 14     | 92     | 4      | 12     | 74     | 5      | 13     | 90     |
| 3        | Govt. School            | Rasulpur             | 1                 | -      | 17     | 31     | 7      | 14     | 68     | 7      | 12     | 55     | 7      | 13     | 73     |
| 4        | Govt. School Village    | Mukundpur/ Hosiarpur | 1                 | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | -      | 7      | 14     | 55     | 6      | 13     | 72     |

NB. '-' data not received, NAAQS of 50 µg/m 3 for SO2, 40 µg/m 3 for NO2, µg/m 3 for PM10, for Residential/ industrial / other area & 20 µg/m 3 for SO2, µg/m 3 for NO2, and 60 µg/m 3 for PM10 for Ecologically sensitive area. The data furnished in the table is as available on date.