Beneath The Smog: Constitutional Mandates And Strategies For Air Pollution Remediation In India

The directive, enshrined in Article 48A of the Indian Constitution, reflects the state's constitutional obligation to uphold environmental integrity and ensure the preservation of natural ecosystems as a matter of national priority. Whereas Article 51-A(g) imposes a fundamental duty on every citizen of India to protect the environment. In spite of this, India has become the fifth most populated nation in the world. Whether it is the overnight destruction of the Kancha Gachibowli forest or the Ken-Betwa Link project, which costs 4 million trees, nothing aligns with the constitutional directive. India is facing an environmental crisis that requires serious, immediate, and long-term well-defined course of action as the time for symbolic actions has ended. If we truly wish to change individual and institutional relations to the environment, we will need legally enforceable accountability, coordination across departments and builders, and public engagement. We need structural scientific reform from a legal standpoint that allows for the opportunity to accomplish our aspirations within our constitutional obligations.

Access to fresh air is a precondition of public health, productivity, and general well-being. In urban India, where inhaling smog has become part of morning rituals, the lack of breathable air is an imminent threat to millions. Researchers have directly correlated extended exposure to air pollutants, including PM2.5, with respiratory diseases, cognitive decline, and chronic cardiovascular disease. Every year, air pollution causes 6.7 million premature deaths. A 2015 study by Berkeley Earth observed global health data and found that breathing air with 22 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter (µg/m³) for one day has about the same health risk as smoking one cigarette. This silent crisis has long-term consequences for the health of children and elderly citizens, exacerbating an already challenging struggle for existence. Clean air not only supports physical health but also builds economic security by producing lower medical bills, a more productive workforce, and longer quality of life spans. As India prepares itself to be a new power player in the world, access to clean, breathable air needs to be a non-negotiable commitment to citizens. Clean air is part of development, part of dignity.

According to a 2021 study of ACS The area with the highest pollution levels is the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP). In contrast to WHO norms of 5–15 μg·m–3, PM2.5 concentrations over IGP and IGP cities like Delhi have year-round values of at least 80 μg·m–3. Pollution levels peak between 150 and 230 gm–3. The main sources of PM2.5 (particulate matter) in India come from biomass burning for cooking and heating, which furnishes about one-third (33 percent of the PM2.5 burden), and fossil fuels (coal and diesel combustion), which contribute around 30%, mainly as secondary aerosols that are produced by gas-to-particle conversion mechanisms. In total, about 38 percent of PM2.5 is primary particles, emitted directly into the atmosphere, such as black carbon, dust, metals, and organic matter. The remaining 62 percent of PM2.5 is produced from secondary formation (with gaseous pollutants that change by chemical processes to fine particles); and, in a polluted atmosphere like the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), which contains Delhi, PM2.5 is also coming from 'regional' transport of emissions from upwind.

To adequately deal with the current air pollution crisis, India needs to strengthen three key areas: research infrastructure, policy frameworks, and economic strategy. A lack of region-wide data, particularly in less studied regions, impacts effective management of air quality. India needs a national integrated air quality monitoring system that produces strong, real-time data. This data will help to support scientific decision making, which will help close the gaps in the current legislation and planning. Additionally, it is possible that India's current air quality standards are outdated given India's naturally higher levels of pollution. Both the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), which went into effect in November 2009, and the Air Pollution (Control and Prevention) Act of 1981 need to be completely reviewed and updated as the permissible threshold for concentrated particles is far low than global standards. According to the 2018 ACS study, the 2050 mean exposure, ignoring the effect of windblown mineral dust, is predicted to be over three times greater than the WHO Air Quality Guideline, even with the most aggressive reductions planned.

 The transportation sector, particularly vehicle emissions, is a major contributor to air pollution. Strategic, phased reduction of tailpipe emissions is essential. According to Greenstone, Harish, Sudarshan, and Pande (2017), Market-oriented strategies, such as emissions trading and pollution pricing, could significantly cut air pollution in India at minimal economic costs. Market-based strategies, like congestion pricing and cap-and-trade, could resolve India's air pollution challenge through a mutually beneficial bargain. Both strategies reduce the total costs of emissions reductions, which means improving air quality and public health can be made less expensive without much cost pressure on the associated industry or consumers. For instance, congestion pricing discourages vehicles in congested areas at peak times, as recommended in Bhure Lal Committee's Report, where the apex court opined that vehicular pollution, which leads to detrimental air conditions, is violative of Article 21. Similarly, under cap-and-trade, each entity has a right to emit pollution allowances to a total level set at a pollution cap, and entities can trade the total allowances to promote low-cost reduction in pollution. These market-based ways in which pollution can be reduced in flexible and economically efficient could be particularly useful for India, where the growing economy militates against environmental protection. It also includes Demand-side conservation which focus on reducing energy consumption through more efficient use and behavioural change which ultimately reduces the necessity for power generation and thus lowers emissions. The use of energy efficient appliances, energy efficient building codes, and also simply turning off devices not in use reduce the load on thermal power plants. Likewise, encouraging the use of public transportation, cycling, or carpooling like Netherlands will reduce emissions from cars Even the addition of small, incremental changes can have a cumulative effect on the reduction of the amount of air pollutants release into the environment. For these reasons, it is important to encourage responsible energy consumption practices to be included in any air pollution control strategy. India, as other nations pursue sustainable development, can use such market-based instruments to continue to balance sustainable community practices and strong economic growth without creating a tension between sustainability and development, with the goal of nurturing healthy communities while developing its economy. Moreover, to foster sustainable development

Other paramount solutions for solving air pollution is replacing fossil fuels with clean energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro and geothermal energy. The combustion of fossil fuels emits the greatest amount of air pollutants, including sulphur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) that severely degrade air quality and lead to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. For example, switching from coal-fired power plants to wind and solar electricity generation will largely diminish emissions and improve ambient air quality. In dense urban centres with pervasive air pollution problems, such as Delhi, moving towards decentralized solar energy generation for electricity production and adopting electric vehicles powered by clean energy electricity can significantly reduce air pollution from stationary and mobile source emissions.

Green spaces and afforestation are essential elements that can help improve air quality since trees and plants serve as natural filters for air. Trees and plants consume carbon dioxide and also absorb harmful particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) into their leaves and branches, so they lower air pollution levels. Plants can also alter urban climates and help prevent the ground-level ozone component of photochemical pollution. Expanding afforestation coupled with silviculture, especially in deforested or dry areas, can later serve to decrease dust storms and overall air quality degradation. Urban Forestry and river city greening represent examples of natural infrastructure that can address air pollution without being structurally intrusive and can have multiple benefits at a low cost.

India's increasingly deteriorating air pollution crisis threatens the public's health, environmental integrity, and foundational tenets. It's the high time that we need a legally enforceable multi-pronged approach - through a framework that includes scientific studies and community-based data collection, legal reform, diversification of the energy sector and transitions to low-carbon energy, and market approaches with carbon pricing. We must elevate public involvement, institutional collaboration, and conservation of ecological integrity, to a foundation of governance. The air we breathe is a gateway to environmental justice; it also is rooted in our dignity as humans, our intended development, and our development as a nation.

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