Lok Sabha Question No. 1805 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-13
Subject: Study/Survey regarding Air Pollution in Rural Areas
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Sunita Duggal

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1805

TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.02.2023

## Study/Survey regarding Air Pollution in Rural Areas

## 1805. SHRIMATI SUNITA DUGGAL:

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

- (a) whether the  Government has carried out any studies/survey  to  examine the  state  of air pollution in rural areas specifically and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  number  of  Continuous  Ambient  Air  Quality  Monitoring  Stations  (CAAQMS)  that functional in rural parts of the country, State/UT-wise including the State of Haryana;
- (c) the steps taken by the Government to tackle indoor air pollution from biomass burning etc. in rural areas; and
- (d) whether the Government has made any action plan specific to rural areas for mitigating air pollution due to stubble burning, biomass/fuel wood burning in rural areas and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a) to (d)

Source apportionment (SA) and Emission Inventory (EI) studies are carried out to identify various  factors  contributing  to  air  pollution  and  to  estimate  their  contribution  to  pollutant emissions and concentrations.

Air Pollution is  primarily  an  urban  phenomenon as most of anthropogenic activities in the urban  areas,  arising  from  various  sectors  viz.  vehicular  pollution,  industrial  pollution,  dust from  construction  and  demolition  project  activities,  road  and  open  areas  dust,  biomass burning,  municipal  solid  waste  burning,  fires  in  sanitary  landfills  and  air  pollution  from dispersed  sources,  bursting  of  fire  crackers  etc.Ambient  air  quality  monitoring  network  of country presently has 1326 stations (Manual + CAAQM Stations) covering 478 cities in 28 States  and  7  Union  Territories  wherein  Ambient  air  quality  is  being  monitored  by  manual monitoring in 26 locations covering 26 villages in 1 state (Punjab) and 1 UT (Daman & Diu and  Dadra  &  Nagar  Haveli).  In  the  current  Financial  Year  2022-23,  each  SPCB/PCC  has been requested to plan 10 rural stations in each State for funding under National Air Quality Monitoring Programme.

The steps taken by the Government to tackle indoor air pollution from biomass burning etc. in rural areas inter-alia include building specific Guidelines and protocols on monitoring and management of indoor air pollution.

The  steps  being  taken  by  Government  for  mitigating  air  pollution  due  to  stubble  burning, biomass/fuel wood burning are given as Annexure.

## Steps taken for improvement of air quality

- I. High  Level  Task  Force  Meeting  under  Principal  Secretary  to  Hon'ble  Prime Minister held on 14.10.2022 for Air Quality Management in Delhi and NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM)
- II. Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forest  and Climate Change on (i) the preparation for preventing winter pollution in north India and (ii) review of the National Clean Air Programme  (NCAP)  held  on  17.10.2022  under  the  Chairmanship  of  ShriJairam Ramesh, Parliamentary Standing Committee.
- III. Launched National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in January 2019 to tackle the problem of air pollution in a comprehensive manner with targets to achieve 20 to 30 % reduction in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations by 2024 keeping 2017 as base year.
- IV. 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.
- V. Interaction  with  concerned  agencies/organisation  and  Ministries  at  Central  and State level to assess the preparedness of policy makers, enforcement agencies and regulatory  bodies  in  order  to  tackle  the  problem  of  Air  Pollution  in  Delhi  NCR initiated interaction.
- VI. More than 20 meetings held involving the State agencies, NGOs, SPCBs and the Commission  for  Air Quality Management  in  National  Capital  Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) since 14 th August, 2021.
- VII. Some of the initiatives taken in these meetings including options to promote use of paddy straw as alternate resource as fuel and fodder are as below:
- i. Joint  ministerial  meeting  with  Central  Ministries  like  Agricultural  &  Farmer Welfare,  Fisheries,  Animal  Husbandry  &  Dairying,  Power,  Railways  to explore the possibilities of policy interventions and strengthening of existing schemes.
- ii. Hon'ble Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change held meetings with  Chief  Ministers,  Environment  Ministers  and  Chief  Secretaries  of  NCR States  including  Punjab,  followed  by  meeting  of  Commission  with  Chief Secretaries, State departments and Local Administrations.
- iii. To encourage use of Stubble as supplementary bio-mass fuel in thermal power plants (TPPs) in NCR. Subsequently, preparedness was reviewed for all TPPs (within 300 Km of NCT) by Minister of Power. NTPC floated tender buying contract for Stubble based bio-mass pellets to be used as supplementary fuel. This  will  help  in  environmentally  sound  Stubble  management  with  added income  to farmers and discourage Stubble burning, resulting in lesser contribution to emission load in coming years.
- iv. Operationalization of a Centralised Control room in Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer  Welfare  to  co-ordinate  with  State  and  Central  agencies  to  prevent stubble burning.
- v. Increase  coverage  area  for  in-situ  Stubble  management  using  proven  PUSA technology for bio-decomposing (Government and NGOs).
- vi. Task Force constituted  for  collection  of  Stubble  in  Punjab  and  Haryana  and supply as fodder to fodder deficient region of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
- VIII. Review meetingsonmanagement of air quality in Delhi NCR held on 20-May-22, 22-June-22, 22-Jul-2022, 23-Aug-22, 22-Sep-22 and 30-Sep-22 with the following agenda:
15. (i) Limiting the use of DG Sets, uninterrupted power supply in the region
16. (ii) Revision  /  updating  of  action  plan  for  prevention  and  control  of  Paddy Stubble Burning in 2022 and up scaling Ex-Situ Management of paddy straw
17. (iii) Extended use of Pusa Bio-Decomposer for In-Situ Crop Residue Management
18. (iv) Management  of  dust  from  roads,  central  verges,  sidewalks  and  open  area along the right of ways
19. (v) Utilization  of  Parali  for  production  of  Bio-fuel  and  ethanol  to  be  used  in Boilers and development of market mechanism for the purpose
20. (vi) Shifting of industries of NCR to CNG / Cleaner fuel etc.
- IX. Minister level Inter-Ministerial Meeting held on 03.10.2022 on the management of crop residue burning under the co-chairmanship HMoP, HMEF&CC, HMoA&FW
- X. Meeting of Hon'ble Ministers of Environment of the States of NCR, Punjab and NCT Delhi held under the Chairmanship of HMEF&CC on 11.10.2022 to review Air  Quality  Management  in the  NCR  region  under  the Chairmanship  of  Hon'ble MEF&CC.
- XI. Minister  level  Inter-Ministerial  Meeting  on  the  management  of  crop  residue burningwas held on 19.10.2022 on the management of crop residue burning under the co-chairmanship HMoA&FW, HMEF&CC, HMoFAH&D.

## XII. 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 The  Commission  has  evolved  a  comprehensive  policy  in  July,  2022  towards short-term/ medium-term/ long-term actions to abate air pollution in the region across all contributing sectors.

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 Hon'ble NGT's and Hon'ble Supreme Court's orders do not permit 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 demolitionactivities

- (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.

## XIII. Action taken by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB):

- o Air Quality Monitoring and Network

National  Air  Quality  Index  (AQI)  was  launched  in  2015.  Information  is  being disseminated to public through daily air quality bulletins.

- o Ambient Air Quality Network:
- (i) Ambient  air  quality  monitoring  network  in  Delhi  NCR  strengthened  and presently  comprises  143  stations  (81  continuous  and  62  manual  systems). Larger coverage and better representative data is now available.
- (ii) In  addition,  to  supplement  conventional  ground  level  monitoring,  satellite based PM2.5 monitoring in collaboration IIT Delhi is being established using aerosol optical depth (AOD).
- (iii)A  Central  Control  Room  is  operated  by  Central  Pollution  Control  Board wherein, hour to hour tracking of various information such as  PM concentrations,  Live  Air  Quality  Data  of  Monitoring  stations,  Live  Air Quality Index, Air Quality Forecast in Delhi-NCR (Source: SAFAR, IITM, Pune) is available.
- (iv) AQI  is  monitored  along  with  other  parameters  and  is  published  on  the website in  the  form  of  AQI  Bulletin  after  analysis.  The  links  for  the  same have been made available to CAQM for consideration and deciding on urgent actions for control of pollution in Delhi-NCR.
- o Measures for control of vehicular emissions:
- (i) Installation of Vapour Recovery System (VRS) in 3,600 petrol pumps
- (ii) New policy - VRS to be installed at new petrol pumps
- a. selling >100kl per month in million plus cities
- b. selling >300kl per month in cities with population between 1 lakh to 1 million
- (iii) Directions  issued  to  M/s  IOCL,  M/s  BPCL,  M/s  HPCL,  M/s  RIL,  M/s Shell, M/s Nayara for installation of VRS as per above mentioned criteria
- (iv) Guidelines  issued  for  setting  up  of  new  petrol  pumps  including  siting criteria
- (v) Guidelines  issued  for  siting  criteria  for  new  petrol  pumps  around  water bodies
- o Measures for control of industrial emission:
- (i) MoEF&CC has notified emission standards for industrial boilers and five industrial  sectors  i.e.  lime  kiln,  foundry,  ceramic,  glass  and  reheating furnaces, in the year 2018.
- (ii) Installation  of  OCEMS  in  red  category  industries  in  Delhi-NCR  is  in progress.
- (iii)Industrial units in Delhi have shifted to PNG/cleaner fuels whereas, units in NCR shall shift to PNG/Biomass latest by December 31, 2022.
- (iv) Shifting  of  all  operational  brick  kilns  to  zig-zag  technology  in  Delhi  and NCR.
- (v) CPCB has come out with System and Procedure for Emission Compliance Testing  of  Retro-fit  Emission  Control  Devices  (RECD)  for  Diesel  Power Generating Set Engines up to Gross Mechanical Power 800 kW.
- o Measures for Control of Emissions from Stubble Burning
- (i) Daily  monitoring  of  Active  Fire  Events  (AFEs)  is  done  during  stubble burning  period  and  reports  are  shared  with  Commission  on  Air  Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining areas for suitable action.
- (ii) CPCB framed  guidelines  for  promoting  setting  up  of  paddy  straw  based pelletization  and  Torrefaction  plants  which  may  help  in  addressing  the supply  chain  issues.  Scheme  will  address  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.
- o MSW, C&D Waste, E- Waste, Biomedical Waste and Hazardous Waste:
- (i) CPCB published guidelines on
-  Environmental  Management  of  Construction  &  Demolition  (C  &  D) Wastes' in March, 2017
-  'Guidelines  on  DUST  Mitigation  Measures  in  Handling  Construction Material & C&D Wastes' in November 2017.
-  Disposal  of  legacy  waste  by  bio-mining  and  bio-remediation  to  address open burning and landfill fires
-  Deployment  of  Anti-Smog  Gun  at  large  construction  projects  sites i n  all construction  projects  in  Delhi-NCR  having  more  than  20,000  sq.  meters' built-up area
- (ii) Extended  Producer  Responsibility  (EPR)  for  plastic,  waste  tyre,  batteries and e-waste management.

(iii)Ban on use of Single Use Plastic (SUP) w.e.f. July 01, 2022.

- o Technical Interventions
- (i) Advisory have been issued to State Boards to use dust suppressant as about 30%  reduction  in  dust  concentration  was  observed  up  to  6  hours  after application of dust suppressant.
- (ii) A pilot Smog tower has been commissioned at AnandVihar, ISBT and is being  operated  since  October  01,  2021.  Localized  pollution  reduction performance being evaluated by IIT Bombay in association with IIT Delhi.
- (iii)Research  projects  are  being  carried  out  by  CPCB  in  collaboration  with premier  institutions  like  IIT,  NEERI,  etc.  under  Environment  Protection Charge  (EPC)  funds  which  provide  scientific  inputs  for  taking  focused action towards improvement in air quality of Delhi NCR.
- (iv) CPCB has initiated issuance of a daily report comprising of AQI of Delhi and NCR  towns, comparative AQI  status, year-wise trends of  PM concentration,  hotspots  for  the  day,  AFE  counts,  contribution  of  stubble burning and meteorological forecast. This report is prepared based on the inputs available from various sources such as IMD, SAFAR, IARI, etc., and disseminated through CPCB website.
- o Close Monitoring & Ground level implementation
- (i) Central Pollution Control Board has been continuously deploying dedicated CPCB's teams on the field during the winter season from 2017 onwards to check on-ground scenario of air pollution related activities and refer these to implementing agencies for necessary action.
- (ii) 03.12.2021  onwards  40  officers  of  CPCB  have  been  deployed  as  flying squads, for conducting incognito inspection of units/sites in various areas of Delhi, NCR regions of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan. Reports are submitted to Commission on Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining areas for further action.
- o Regular Stakeholder Consultation, Public & Media Outreach
- (i) Continuous  interactions  and  coordination  with  government  bodies,  public agencies, urban local bodies for assessment of mitigation measures and to combat air pollution through review meetings for air quality management in Delhi-NCR. 41 review meetings convened as on date.
- (ii) Twitter and Facebook accounts for public outreach and complaint redressal are closely monitored and complaints resolved through concerned enforcement agencies.
- (iii) Dedicated media corner on CPCB website informs latest developments and actions taken.  Media briefings are also organized.
- o Regulatory Actions
- (i) Graded  Response  Action  Plan  (GRAP)  was  prepared  for  implementation under  different  Air  Quality  Index  (AQI)  categories  in  pursuant  to  the Hon'ble Supreme Court's Order dated December 02, 2016. A Task Force, headed by CPCB and comprising of members from Delhi Pollution Control

Committee (DPCC), State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) of Haryana, Uttar  Pradesh  &  Rajasthan,  India  Meteorology  Department  (IMD)  and Health Expert was constituted for recommending measures under GRAP to EPCA. 68 meetings of the Task Force were held until EPCA was dissolved on promulgation of Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM).

- (ii) Subsequently, Commission on Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining areas (CAQM) entrusted the task of operationalizing and monitoring the GRAP measures to CPCB till a mechanism is set up. CPCB  reviewed  air  quality  and  meteorological  scenario  and  issued  the orders  on  11.11.2020,  23.12.2020  and  15.01.2021  to  all  the  concerned states.
- (iii) CPCB had requested MoEF&CC for revision of GRAP and further, CPCB has prepared revised action plan which was forwarded to the Commission for  Air  Quality  Management  in  NCR  and  Adjoining  Areas  for  taking  it further. Subsequently, based on the inputs of CPCB  and detailed deliberations, a revised GRAP  has been published by  CAQM  on 05.08.2022, which came into effect from 01.10.2022.
- (iv) The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM)  constituted  a  sub-committee  for  operationalization  of  GRAP under  chairmanship  of  Member  Secretary,  CPCB  and  issuing  necessary orders to the effect, under which regular meetings are held, and Orders are issued under GRAP for mitigation of air pollution in Delhi-NCR. The subcommittee  has  since  then  been  reconstituted,  under  the  chairmanship  of Member-Technical, CAQM vide order dated 06.09.2022.
- (v) Comprehensive  Action  Plan  (CAP)  for  air  pollution  control  in  Delhi  & NCR  is developed by MOEF&CC  which  identified timelines and implementing agency for actions identified. CPCB issues directions to all the concerned agencies under Section 3 and 5 of Environmental (Protection)  Act,  1986  for  implementation  of  Comprehensive  action  plan. Now, CAQM is looking after implementation of CAP.
- o Other Actions

Dedicated media corner, twitter and Facebook accounts have been created for  public  outreach  and  complaint  redressal  is  closely  monitoring  the complaints  on  SAMEER  app  and  social  media  platforms  (Twitter  & Facebook).  Sameer  and  social  media  complaints  are  resolved  through enforcement  agencies  and  redressal  status  is  being  shared  with  respective agencies.

- (i) National  Air  Quality  Index  (AQI)  which  was  launched  in  2015  is  being disseminated to public through daily air quality bulletins.
- (ii) Ambient Air Quality Network: Ambient air quality monitoring network in Delhi NCR  strengthened and presently comprises 143 stations (81 continuous and 62 manual systems). Larger coverage and better representative data is now available.
- (iii) In  addition,  to  supplement  conventional  ground  level  monitoring,  satellite based  PM2.5  monitoring  in  collaboration  IIT  Delhi  is  being  established using aerosol optical depth (AOD).
- (iv) A Central  Control  Room  is  operated  by  Central  Pollution  Control  Board wherein, hour to hour tracking of  various  information  such  as  PM concentrations,  Live  Air  Quality  Data  of  Monitoring  stations,  Live  Air Quality Index, Air Quality Forecast in Delhi-NCR (Source: SAFAR, IITM, Pune) is available.
- (v) AQI  is  monitored  along  with  other  parameters  and  is  published  on  the website in the form of AQI Bulletin after analysis. The links for the same have  been  made  available  to  CAQM  for  consideration  and  deciding  on urgent actions for control of pollution in Delhi-NCR.

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