Lok Sabha Question No. 4248 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-27
Subject: Air Quality Statistics of Kochi, Kerala
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Hibi Eden

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 4248

TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.03.2023

## Air Quality Statistics of Kochi, Kerala

## 4248. SHRI HIBI EDEN:

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the alleged cover-up of poor air quality statistics in Kochi, Kerala, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has any data showing the air quality statistics in Kochi for the first three months of 2023 and monthly data for the year 2022, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has taken any measures to improve the air quality in Kochi, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the  Government has any  plans  to  increase  the  monitoring  of  air  quality  in Kochi, Kerala, to prevent any further cover-ups of poor air quality statistics, if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether  the  Government  has  any  plans  to  identify  the  sources  of  air  pollution  and implement measures to reduce them, if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) whether the Government has any plans to investigate the issue of poor air quality in Kochi and if so, the details and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

## (a) to (f)

Annual  ambient  air  quality  data  Kochi  city  measured  during  the  year  2019-2021  for  the environmental  parameters  PM10,  PM2.5,  SO2,  and  NO2is  found  to  be  within  the  National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Monthly average of ambient air quality data of Kochi city for the parameters PM10, PM2.5,SO2, and NO2 during January, 2022 till March, 2023 (till 20th March) is provided at Annexure-I .

9 number of ambient air quality monitoring stations (1 real time and 8 manual) have been set up to monitor air quality in Kochi city.

National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) launched by MoEFCC for improving air quality in 131  cities  includes  non-attainment  cities  where  ambient  air  quality  has  consecutively exceeded National Ambient Air Quality Standards for five  years. Kochi city is  not part  of NCAP.

Source apportionment (SA) and Emission Inventory (EI) studies have been initiated in Nonattainment cities  to identify  various  sources  contributing  to  air  pollution  and  estimate their contribution to pollutant emissions and concentrations. No Source Apportionment Study was conducted for Kochi city.Measures taken by the Government to improve air quality are given at Annexure II .

***

Annexure - I

Monthly average of ambient air quality data of Kochi city for the parameters PM10, PM2.5, SO2, and NO2 during January, 2022 till March, 2023 (till 20th March)

| Month& Year                   | Monthly average concentrations (in µg/m 3 )   | Monthly average concentrations (in µg/m 3 )   | Monthly average concentrations (in µg/m 3 )   | Monthly average concentrations (in µg/m 3 )   |
|-------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
|                               | PM2.5                                         | PM10                                          | NO2                                           | SO2                                           |
| January, 2022                 | 56                                            | 79                                            | 16                                            | 14                                            |
| February, 2022                | 64                                            | 78                                            | 19                                            | 8                                             |
| March, 2022                   | 55                                            | 75                                            | 17                                            | 4                                             |
| April, 2022                   | 55                                            | 65                                            | 21                                            | 4                                             |
| May, 2022                     | 58                                            | 88                                            | 22                                            | 4                                             |
| June, 2022                    | 31                                            | 49                                            | 25                                            | 4                                             |
| July, 2022                    | 50                                            | 73                                            | 13                                            | 2                                             |
| August, 2022                  | 58                                            | 70                                            | 20                                            | 1                                             |
| September, 2022               | 129                                           | 106                                           | 8                                             | 2                                             |
| October, 2022                 | 62                                            | 99                                            | 2                                             | 4                                             |
| November, 2022                | 132                                           | 140                                           | 3                                             | 3                                             |
| December, 2022                | 73                                            | 100                                           | 35                                            | 16                                            |
| January, 2023                 | 74                                            | 93                                            | 34                                            | 25                                            |
| February, 2023                | 75                                            | 102                                           | 21                                            | 13                                            |
| March, 2023 (till 20.03.2023) | 69                                            | 106                                           | 17                                            | 33                                            |

## Measures taken by the Government to improve air quality

Government has taken several initiatives to improve air quality. The following actions were initiated by the Union Government:

## A. Vehicular Emission

-  Leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI norms for fuel and vehicles since April, 2018 in NCT of Delhi and from 1 st April, 2020 for rest of the country.
-  Network  of metro  rails  for  public  transport are  enhanced  and  more  cities  are covered.
-  Development of Expressway and Highways are also reducing the fuel consumption and pollution.
-  Eastern  Peripheral Expressway & Western Peripheral Expressway has  been operationalized to divert non destined traffic from Delhi.
-  Ban on 10-year-old diesel vehicles and 15-year-old vehicles in Delhi NCR.
-  Environment protection charges (EPC) have been imposed on diesel vehicles with engine capacity of 2000cc and above in Delhi NCR.
-  Introduction of cleaner/alternate fuels like CNG, LPG, ethanol blending in petrol.
-  Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) 2 schemes has been rolled out.
-  Permit requirement for electric vehicles has been exempted.
-  Promotion  of  public  transport  and  improvements  in  roads  and  building  of  more bridges to ease congestion on roads.

## B. Industrial Emissions

-  Ban on use of pet coke and furnace oil in NCR, use of pet coke in processes in cement plants, lime kilns and calcium carbide manufacturing units.
-  Stringent emission norms for Coal based Thermal Power Plants (TPPs).
-  Shifting of industrial units to PNG/cleaner fuel in Delhi
-  Installation of online continuous emission monitoring devices in highly polluting industries.
-  Shifting  of  brick  kilns  in  Delhi-  NCR  to  zig-zag  technology  for  reduction  of pollution
-  Notified  emission  standards  for  industrial  boilers  and  five  industrial  sectors  i.e. lime kiln, foundry, ceramic, glass and reheating furnaces, in the year 2018.

## C. Air Pollution due to dust and burning of waste

-  Notification of 8 waste management rules covering solid waste, plastic waste, ewaste,  bio-medical  waste,  C&D  waste,  hazardous  waste,  battery  waste  and  ash generated from thermal power plants.
-  Setting up infrastructure such as waste processing plants.
-  Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework for plastic packaging, battery waste,tyre waste and e-waste have been implemented.
-  Ban on burning of biomass/garbage.

## D. Monitoring of Ambient Air Quality

-  Expansion  of  air  quality  monitoring  network  of  manual  as  well  as  continuous monitoring  stations  under  programmes  such  as  the  National  Air  Monitoring Programme (NAMP).
-  Initiation of pilot projects to assess alternate ambient monitoring technologies such as low-cost sensors and satellite-based monitoring.
-  Public Grievances and Response System (PGRS) is developed under NCAP
-  Emergency Response System (ERS) has been prepared in NCAP cities.
-  Air quality monitoring cell has been constituted across the country in NCAP Cities.
-  Implementation  of  Air  Quality  Early  Warning  System  for  Delhi,  Kanpur  and Lucknow. The system provides alerts for taking timely actions.
-  Public Complaints regarding air pollution issues in Delhi NCR are taken through 'Sameer App', 'Emails' (Aircomplaints.cpcb@gov.in) and 'Social Media Networks' (Facebook and Twitter).
-  At present ambient air quality is monitored through a network of 1208 manual and real time monitoring stations in 460 towns and cities across 28 states and 7 UTs in the country which is being further strengthened under NCAP.
- E. Convergence  of  schemes  of  different  Ministries/  departments  in  improving  air quality in urban centers and across the country

Government has released several schemes and initiatives to improve air quality. States and Cities are leveraged to utilise resources through convergence of various schemes and programmes of Union and State Governments.

- a) Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs - Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0
2.  Provision of Rs. 1,41,678 crores under SBM 2.0
3.  Period - 2021-2026
4.  Focused areas -
5.  Source segregation of garbage,
6.  Reduction in single-use plastic,
7.  Effective management of C&D waste
8.  Bio-remediation of all legacy dump sites
9.  Metro rail  projects-  augment  public  transport  network  in  cities  and  thereby improvement in air quality
- b) Ministry  of  Heavy  Industries  -  Faster  Adoption  and  Manufacturing  of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME) Scheme (Phase II)
11.  Outlay - Rs. 10,000 Crore
12.  Period - Started in 2019
13.  Extended - for 2 years upto 31st March 2024
14.  Focused areas -
15.  7,090 e-Buses,
16.  More than 15 lakh other categories of e-vehicles
- c) Ministry of Petroleum  and  Natural  Gas  -  Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT)
18.  Period - 2023-24
19.  Focused areas
20.  Set up 5,000 Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) production plants
21.  CBG for use in automotive fuels
- d) Ministry  of  Petroleum  and  Natural  Gas -Pradhan  Mantri  Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)
23.  Target of providing 8 crore LPG connections has been achieved
24.  To  further  increase  the  LPG  coverage,  additional  1  crore  LPG  connections will be released under PMUY.
25.  Focused areas
26.  Reduced emissions from households due to cooking
27.  City Gas Distribution Network- adoption of cleaner fuels in the country
- e) Department of Agriculture &  Farmer's Welfare -Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for in-situ management of Crop Residue in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi
29.  Rs.  1,749.17  crores  for  crop  residue  management  in  the  States  of  Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi during FY 2018-19 to Fy 2020-21
30.  Rs 700 crores proposed for FY 2021-22
31.  Focused areas -
32.  Machines for in-situ crop residue management are promoted
33.  Subsidies are provided for establishment of Custom Hiring Centres.
- f) Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
35.  Implementation of BSVI standards
36.  Ministry is also focusing on phasing out older vehicular through the vehicle scrapping policy
- g) Ministry of New and Renewable Energy - Schemes for renewable energy and MSW projects
38.  Promotion of solar power
39.  Focused  schemes  on  bio-gas/  bio-methanation  plants  for  managing  organic wastes, Waste to energy plants, etc.
40.  Provide financial incentives for renewable projects.
- h) Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change - National Mission for Green India
42.  Increase forest/ tree cover on forest/ non-forest lands and improve quality of forest cover.
43.  Nagar Van Yojana
- i) Ministry of Power
45.  Uninterrupted electric power supply
46.  Phasing out old coal based power plants
47.  Implementation of FGD in thermal power plants, etc.
- F. Steps taken for improvement of air quality in Delhi-NCR
- I. Constitution  of  Commission  for  Air  Quality  Improvement  in  National  Capital Region and Adjoining Area (CAQM) through an Act passed by the Parliament of India  on  13.08.2021,  for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  Air  Quality  in  National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas.
- II. Various actions taken by CAQM is summarised as under:

## Prevention and control of paddy stubble burning

- o Framework for Prevention and control of paddy stubble burning prepared after extensive consultation with State Governments of Punjab, NCR States, GNCTD and Central Ministries, Knowledge institutions namely ICAR, IARI, ISRO etc.
- o Major components of the Framework:
-  Plans to reduce generation of paddy straw (diversification to other crops and to other varieties).
-  In-situ Crop Residue Management
-  Ex-situ Crop Residue Management
-  Monitoring/Effective enforcement.
-  IEC activities.
- o Statutory Directions to develop detailed state specific Action Plans based on the Framework.  Plans finalized for Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for 2022, based on the framework and also field learnings from the year 2021. The plans include a futuristic policy for ex-situ utilization of paddy straw.
- o Statutory directions issued for mandatory co-firing of biomass with coal (@510%) in thermal power plants located within 300 kms. of Delhi.
- o Statutory Directions issued for effective implementation of action plans for the prevention and control of Stubble Burning.
- o Standard ISRO  protocol developed for monitoring fire events. Statutory Directions issued for adoption of the protocol for recording of fire events using satellite data.
- o Close monitoring by CAQM of the daily fire counts - regular follow up with the State Governments.
- o Commission has evolved a comprehensive policy in July, 2022 towards shortterm/ medium-term/ long-term actions to abate air pollution in the region across all contributing sectors.
- o CPCB  framed  guidelines  for  promoting  setting  up  of  paddy  straw  based pelletization  and  Torrefaction  plants  which  will  help  in  addressing  the  supply chain  issues.  Scheme  addresses  the  issue  of  open  burning  of  paddy  straw  in agriculture  fields  in  Northern  Region.  A  corpus  of  Rs.  50  crores  have  been sanctioned from EPC funds. Assuming complete utilization of the corpus, over 1  million  metric  tonnes  of  paddy  straw  based  pellets  are  expected  to  be generated every year.

## Control of industrial emissions

- o Statutory Directions issued for implementing  the  'Standard'  fuel  list of approved clean fuels in NCR and phasing out heavily polluting fossil fuels like coal, diesel oil, LDO etc.
- o Statutory Directions for industries to shift to approved fuels, by 30.09.2022 (for areas  where  gas  infrastructure  is  available)  and  by  31.12.2022,  where  gas infrastructure is still not available.

## Directions/ Regulations for use of Power Generating Sets

- o No restrictions on generator sets running on LPG/Natural gas, Butane/Propane/Biogas
- o Uninterrupted  use  of  DG  sets  permitted  only  for  emergency  services  during GRAP.
- o DISCOMS to ensure uninterrupted power supply in  NCR to  minimize use of DG Sets.
- o Regulated use of DG Sets for industrial sector during GRAP for limited time subject to retro fitment of Emission Control Devices (ECD) and running on dual fuel mode (gas and diesel)

## Control of vehicular pollution

- o Implementation of Orders of Hon'ble NGT's and Hon'ble Supreme Court's not permitting overaged vehicles (15/10 yrs. for petrol / diesel vehicles respectively) to run in NCR.
- o Advisory issued by Commission for developing suitable EV policies, focusing on mandatory procurement of e-vehicles for various sectors.
- o Transition to CNG / cleaner vehicles also in outer NCR.
- o Effective PUC regime - control on polluting vehicles

## Dust  management  from  roads  and  open  areas  and  from  construction  and demolition activities

- (i) Road dust management
- o Statutory directions to all road owning/ maintaining agencies for setting up of 'Dust Control and Management Cells' (DCMCs).
- o Key actions for DCMCs:
-  Optimum utilization of road sweeping machines
-  Scientific disposal of dust collected
-  Sprinkling of water and dust suppressants on roads / right of ways
-  Augmentation of sweeping and sprinkling machines
-  Proper maintenance of roads and also keep road pothole free
-  Laying of roads to fully support mechanised sweeping.
-  Non-paved road sides to be paved or converted into green
-  Greening of central verges / plantation of trees
-  Cemented roads in industrial areas.
-  Identification of hot spots and implement specific road dust control measures
- o Sixty (60) 'Dust Control and Management Cells' set up.
- (ii) Dust management from C&D projects:
- o Statutory  directions  issued  mandatory  registration  of  projects  on  plot  size  is equal to or more than 500 sq mtr. on the C&D web portal.
- o Web portals functional in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Under development in Rajasthan.
- o Self-certification by the proponents on the portal.
- o Cross  Verification  of  the  parameters  as  certified  on  the  portal  vis-à-vis  the ground conditions.
- o Compliances  related  to  various  rules  and  guidelines  related  to  effective  dust mitigation  measures  at  C&D  sites  viz.  Wind  breakers,  dust  screens,  water sprinkling, dust suppressants and soil stabilization measures etc.
- o Deployment of adequate numbers of anti-smog guns, in proportion to the area of the construction sites.
-  At least 1 for a total construction area between 5000 - 10000 sqm.
-  At least 2 for a total construction area between 10001- 15000 sqm.
-  At least 3 for a total construction area between 15001- 20000 sqm.
-  At least 4 for a total construction Area 20,000 sqm.
- o Compliance  of  guidelines  for  covering  of  construction  materials  with  dust potential.
- o Transportation of C&D materials in covered vehicles.

-  NCT of Delhi

: 11

-  Uttar Pradesh

: 18

-  Haryana

: 17

-  Rajasthan

: 14

## Other matters:

- (i) Revised Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)
- o Revised GRAP based on Delhi's AQI as against PM2.5 / PM10 levels earlier.
- o Preventive / restrictive / prohibitive actions under 4 different stages (I-IV) w.e.f. 01.10.2022.
- o Daily forecasts by IMD/ IITM started.
- o Sub-Committee for invoking GRAP meeting regularly for invoking the GRAP actions, based on the AQI forecast.
- o Actions under Stage II, III and IV of the GRAP to be invoked at least three days in advance of the AQI reaching to the projected levels of that stage, based on the forecast.
-  24 action points under Stage-I 'Poor' (AQI 201-300)
-  12 action points under Stage- II 'Very Poor' (AQI 301-400)
-  9 action points under Stage III 'Severe' (AQI 401-450)
-  8 action points under Stage IV 'Severe+' (AQI>450)
- (ii) Prevention of open burning of solid waste and bio-mass Desired Actions:
-  Intensified inspections / monitoring during winters.
-  Proper collection, segregation and disposal of solid waste.
-  Proper clearance of leaves, twigs etc. after road cleaning activities.
- (iii) Prevention of air pollution through fire crackers Desired Actions:
-  Strict implementation of Hon'ble Supreme Court / NGT orders on use of fire crackers.
-  Enforce ban on use of fire crackers wherever imposed.

***