Deaths caused by pollution... is that a thing? Well, for the Environment Ministry it doesn’t seem to be one.
The ministry has rubbished studies of deaths due to pollution, even as it has failed to commission any study of its own on this big question.
RTIs filed by The Quint reveal that the Environment Ministry has spent less than half a percent of its already dipping annual budget – on research.
A Trump-ish State Of Denial
Of 8,00,000 deaths in South East Asia due to pollution in 2012, 6,20,000, or a massive 77% were from India, according to a WHO 2016 report. A Greenpeace report says 3,300 Indians died everyday in 2015 due to pollution, taking the number to 12 lakh in the year.
To seek answers on how seriously the Ministry of Environment was taking pollution and deaths associated with it, The Quint filed RTIs on the following queries:
- Had the Ministry of Environment conducted research on pollution?
- Had the Ministry of Environment conducted research on deaths due to, or closely related to, pollution?
The Ministry transferred all these queries to concerned public information officers (CPIOs) in the administration and animal welfare division along with the Central Pollution Control Board, all of whom responded with the sarkaari response – ‘Information to queries may be treated as ‘NIL’.
Environment Budget Slashed by 19% Over 5 Years
The government did share details of the ministry’s overall budget and budget for research in particular. But the details weren’t promising.
You ask why?
Between 2012-2013 and 2016-2017, the government budget for environment has been slashed by 19%. This clearly shows how low environment ranks in the government’s list of the most pressing concerns of our times.
Less Than 1/400th Of Budget Allocated For Research!
While the overall budget took a hit over the last five years, the government budget on research has remained static – at an amazingly miniscule low!
This is not true only for this year but for the last five years.
From 2012-2013 to 2016-2017, the average percent of the budget spent on research is 0.24 percent.
Annual ‘Green’ Budget Vs Research Spend
- 2012-2013: Total budget for Environment Ministry Rs 3,082 crore. Rs 6.5 crore spent on research – 0.21% of the budget.
- 2013-2014: Budget Rs 2,884 crore. Research Rs 6.4 crore. 0.22% of the budget.
- 2014-2015: Budget Rs 2,510 crore. Research Rs 6 crore. 0.23% of the budget.
- 2015-2016: Budget Rs 2,047 crore. Research Rs 5.6 crore. 0.27% of the budget.
- 2016-2017: Budget Rs 2,506 crore. Research Rs 6.8 crore. 0.27% of the budget.
Sorry State of Affairs for the Govt
It isn’t like the government had not made the correlation between deaths and pollution earlier.
In 2012, the Central Pollution Control Board report, titled ‘Epidemiological Study on Effect of Air Pollution on Human Health in Delhi’ recommended a study be conducted at regular intervals to detect and analyse the health effects of air pollution.
Also read: Environment Ministry in Denial Mode on Deaths Due to Pollution
There is an absence of facilities for regular monitoring of public health in relation to air pollution exposures, despite the fact that protection of public health is the ultimate goal of air quality monitoring.Central Pollution Control Board report, 2012.
Excerpts from 2012 CPCB Report:
- Despite the fact that protection of public health is the ultimate goal of air quality monitoring, regular monitoring doesn’t happen.
- Unfortunately, data on health effects of air pollution from Indian cities is scanty.
- Investigation on the health effects of chronic, long-term exposures to ambient air pollution with special reference to particulate matter is lacking.
Despite recognising the need, despite research coming from credible pollution watchers, despite all the anecdotal evidence – the government still hasn’t got its act together against the adverse effects of pollution on health.
We can laugh at Trump, but we’re living in denial here as well.
(This article is being republished for World Environment Day on 5 June, it was originally published on 4 June, 2017)
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