Vantage | Delhi's foul air shows the failure of leadership

New Delhi, the capital of India, is a megacity of over 30 million. People from all across the nation come here. Looking for better jobs and even better lives. It sounds like a feasible plan, but it should come with a cautionary note. In Delhi, breathing is injurious to health. People are losing years of their lives—11.9 years, to be exact—simply by breathing in Delhi air. It is the same as smoking more than 10 cigarettes a day. A thick blanket of noxious haze has settled over Delhi.

It burns the eyes and lungs, prompting ardent calls for action. The public frenzy has compelled the state government to act, or at least, be seen to act. But amid this heavy smog, one thing is clear as day: Delhi’s pollution pangs are doomed because the attempts to resolve them are bogus. Delhi’s air quality has persisted in the “severe” category. On Thursday, it stood at 423 in the air quality index, or AQI. In some areas, it is well above 450. Think of the AQI as a yardstick. It runs from 0 to 500. Anything over 300 is hazardous. Over 400 is extremely risky. That’s where we are. And what’s the healthy limit? 0 to 50. So Delhi’s air quality is nearly 10 times worse. All the efforts to combat pollution are too little and too late. Many are flawed in design and bound to fail. The only concrete step the government has taken is to shut down schools. On Thursday, they held a meeting and came up with another plan: Delhi’s ministers will personally visit parts of the city to ensure anti-pollution measures are being implemented. Perhaps they want to be seen as doing something. What were they doing for the past year? Or the year before? It’s not like it’s a new problem. Then they want to ban the entry of taxis registered in other states. Not sure when this will be done, and how? They’ve also announced the odd-even scheme, basically vehicle rationing, to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads. The Supreme Court calls this optics; they’ll hear the matter on Friday. Meanwhile, the government has another brilliant idea: cloud seeding. Delhi will attempt to induce artificial rains. This is a weather modification technique. Artificial rain, much like natural rain, clears the atmosphere. It reduces airborne pollutants. The government is waiting on a proposal for this plan. After which, it will approach the Supreme Court. And if the court says yes, they’ll do it on November 20 or 21, because it is expected to be cloudy on those days. So basically, it may or may not happen. You know what this sounds like? It’s like the government forgot to prepare for an annual exam, and now it is scrambling to keep up. Doing the bare minimum, and it won’t work. Delhi’s policy is a reaction to public outcry. Hap-hazard moves without vision. Aimed not so much to curb the pollution as to contain the backlash. It happens every year; a slight drop in temperature and calm winds trap pollution. At the same time, there’s stubble burning in neighbouring states. They burn paddy straw after the harvest. Mostly in Punjab and Haryana. These two states generate 30 million tonnes of paddy straw every year. Only a small fraction is used. The rest is burnt. More than a thousand fires are recorded every day. Their smoke travels to Delhi and its neighbourhoods. It accounts for up to 25 per cent of the pollution. But the government would rather shut down schools for a week than handle this problem. You see, there is no easy or quick solution to this. Which is why it has to be a year-long effort, not a last-ditch one. So why has Delhi failed to do what must be done? Is the government incapable of implementing effective policies? Or it is unwilling? And we don’t know which is worse. Either way, this is a failure of leadership. It is killing people, and that is unforgivable. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.