DailyPost 2967
TOXIC CAPITAL – A TRIBUTE TO DEMOCRACY / GOVERNANCE
That the air in the capital city in the country is so toxic, not being fit to allow normal health is a tribute to the nature of democracy which we practise and consequently the nature of governance that we have created. To say that both of it is totally broken would still be a compliment for the stage we are in. The country fortunately has had a very muscular government for more than ten years, which can boldly decide and execute. And here we have in the seat of power with an atmosphere of toxicity and quite literally so. To add to the bold union government, we have a very popular government based on the poll results, equally struggling on the same issue.
In this country where you can get free ration to bus rides for free, where guarantees have become a synonym for the constitution of this country, one thing you should not ask for is fresh air. Ease of living and ease of business are touted as the epitome of soft deliverables so to say. We can leave the ease of business aside for the time being, the ease of living the less the better, where that most pampered of the citizens, the ones in the capital city, are struggling for a fresh year. Delhi has been the most polluted capital city in the world in 2023.
Delhi faces air emergency every year, and instead of that to the urgency for a solution, it has become a political parties / governments slugfest, with nothing being done about the problem. There is no denying the fact that air quality has been deteriorating with every passing to the extent that India’s capital city is not livable. The current PM2.5 concentration in New Delhi is 11.9 times above the recommended limit given by the WHO 24 hours air quality guidelines value. The air pollution levels of different locations in Delhi remain predominantly unhealthy with very few having poor levels.
The watershed year would be around 2015 -16 when a significant turn around for the worst happened. This is nearly the same time the great governments spread their tentacles of governance over Delhi. What a fight for powers and what has been the delivery? Courts and social media have turned to their regular habitats for a decade, with no time to handle this environmental crisis. It is the same stubble etc story every year and the blame game. Which experts are guiding the recovery process, if any? How has the civil society taken into confidence? What about the technologies being used? What about the milestones, the audit framework and correctional mechanisms? And the most important of it all, can the two governments even work together?
ENVIRONMENTAL MAYHEM HAS BEEN MADE DELHI’s FATE BY WHAT WE CALL AS WELFARE GOVERNMENTS.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.