Lok Sabha Question No. 482 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-09
Subject: Health Outcome of Air Pollution
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Pradyut Bordoloi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. - 482 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.12.2022

## HEALTH OUTCOME OF AIR POLLUTION

## 482. SHRI PRADYUT BORDOLOI:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the fact that monitoring of health outcomes/effects of  air  pollution  are  mainly  confined  to  urban  populations  areas which overlooks the vast majority of Indians living in rural areas, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has assessed any particular socio-economic groups/areas, who/which, are/is more vulnerable to air pollution, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to monitor such outcomes among  vulnerable  groups/areas  apart  from  rural  women  who  are  exposed  to burning of firewood and tribal communities involved in mining/industrial activities near their settlements; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

(a) to (d):  Ambient air quality monitoring network has been established by Ministry of Environment,  Forest  &  Climate  Change  under  National  Air  Quality  Monitoring Programme  which  has  1296  stations  covering  473  cities  in  28  States  and  7  Union Territories including in rural areas.

Further, Central Pollution Control Board had also got conducted a study titled 'Does air quality from crop residue burning in close proximity to residential areas adversely affect  respiratory  health?'  through  The  Energy  Research  Institute.  Under  the  study, impact of poor air quality due to crop residue burning on the respiratory health of the population (in 6 villages) was assessed.

Further Government of India has taken several steps to address air pollutions issues. Such as:

-  Pradhan  Mantri  Ujjwala  Yojana  (PMUY)  aims  to  safeguard  the  health  of women & children by providing them with a clean cooking fuel - LPG.
-  Swachh Bharat Mission to clean up streets, roads and infrastructure of India's cities, smaller towns, and rural areas. SwachhHawa is an integral component of Swachh Bharat.
-  Under Central Sector Scheme on 'Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for in-situ  management of  Crop Residue in the States of Punjab, Haryana,  Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi', agricultural machines and equipment for in-situ crop  residue  management  are  promoted  with  50%  subsidy  to  the  individual farmers and 80% subsidy for establishment of Custom Hiring Centres.
-  Sustainable Alternative towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) has been launched  as  an  initiative  to  set  up  Compressed  Bio-Gas  (CBG)  production plants and make CBG available in the market for use in automotive fuels.
-  A City Specific  Clean  Air  Action  Plan  has  been  prepared  and  rolled  out  for implementation in 131 non-attainment and million plus  cities  by  Ministry  of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), with a focus on city specific short/ medium/ long term actions to control air pollution from sources such  as  vehicular  emission,  road  dust,  burning  of  biomass/  crop/  garbage/ Municipal  Solid  Waste,  landfills,  construction  activities,  industrial  emission, etc.
-  MoHFW  has  launched  National  Program  on  Climate  Change  and  Human Health  (NPCCHH)  at  National  Centre  for  disease  Control  (NCDC),  with objective to create awareness, capacity building, health sector preparedness and response  and  partnerships  related  activities  on  the  climate  sensitive  health issues in the country since 2019. The programme has now been expanded in all the  State/UTs  and  activities  such  as  training  on  Climate  Sensitive  Diseases, Surveillance on Acute Respiratory Illnesses and Heat related Illnesses, IEC on Air Pollution & Heat and its health impacts on health are taken.