Dousing Delhi’s pollution with choppers

Instead of the more popular cloud seeding, Delhi government steps out with aerial sprinkling with no plan on how to go about it.

WrittenBy:Amit Bhardwaj
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In a rare turn of events on Monday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government has sought the Centre’s help. Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain wrote to his counterpart at the Centre, Dr Harsh Vardhan, seeking his help in getting helicopters and aircraft from the Civil Aviation Ministry to start aerial sprinkling of water in the capital. The sprinkling is to settle particulate matter pollutants in the air.

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Experts believe that November, December and January are critical months for Delhi. This is when the air pollution crisis, including the smog, is at its peak. Stubble burning in the neighbouring districts of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan continue to make air conditions critical in Delhi. Last year, the air pollution post-Diwali had literally choked the city. Thanks to the Supreme Court’s ban on sale of fire-crackers in Delhi-NCR this year, the pollution levels are relatively better than last year.

The situation, however, continues to be grim. The increase in Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 and PM 10 is alarming. According to the Delhi government, the Air Quality Index (AQI) trend from October 17 to 22 , 2017 indicated “severe condition” category.

Even on October 24, the AQI level was at 302 in Delhi-NCR which falls under the “very poor” category. PM 2.5 was the main pollutant. While 0-50 AQI is considered good for breathing, 50-100 is the satisfactory level. Anything beyond 200 is poor AQI and can trigger respiratory ailments. If the levels cross 300 it is categorised “very poor”, and an AQI between 400-500 is severe.

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In order to tackle the situation, the Delhi government has proposed to go ahead with aerial sprinkling to “settle down the particulate matter” in the air.

Polash Mukerjee of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) doesn’t agree with the government’s approach. “It might be an immediate relief but is not an ideal solution. It creates other problems alongside,” Mukerjee told Newslaundry. He also pointed out that for a city like Delhi “where water supply is short” this doesn’t look like a good measure. He said that while there is no precedent to aerial sprinkling being used as an effective measure to curb air pollution, countries such as China have used cloud seeding successfully for artificial rains, to tackle it.

In cloud seeding, silver iodide, potassium chloride and sodium chloride are fired from the ground or dropped over moist clouds from aircraft, it increases chances of rain from the clouds. This has been in use for decades now. China has extensively used this weather modification technology to not only tackle drought but also to handle smog crisis.

However, those like Mukerjee believe the government agencies should rather focus on the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). “There is already a Central government-notified GRAP that has the emergency measures to be taken. First, the implementation of the GRAP needs to be more stringent,” he said.

The Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority for the National Capital Region, known as EPCA, formulated GRAP in December last year. It lays the measures to be taken by different agencies – including Delhi government, civic bodies, police officials and authorities of neighbouring states – for different phases of pollution in Delhi-NCR.

For instance, the provisions of “very poor and severe categories” of the GRAP from October 17 to March 15, 2018, have been enforced by the state government in Delhi. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and similar agencies of UP, Haryana and Rajasthan have been asked to ensure closure of brick kilns, hot mix plambienceone crushers in the NCR. While diesel generator sets have been banned, the Badarpur thermal power plant has been shut down to curb pollution.

A similar harsh measure awaits Delhiites if the AQI level doesn’t come to the moderate level in the coming days. EPCA chairperson Dr Bhure Lal told Newslaundry, “Once the severe situation arrives we will have to implement all recommendations including banning entry of trucks and introducing the odd-even policy.” When asked if the introduction of the road-rationing measure might irk residents as well as opposition parties, Lal said, “When it is a question of survival, where is the scope for politics? They will have to agree to such measures.”

However, Lal didn’t appear convinced with the Delhi government proposal of aerial sprinkling. “Ask Delhi government officials, we have not made any such recommendations regarding usages of choppers,” he said. The AAP government has not consulted the EPCA before writing to the Centre – requesting the Civil Aviation Ministry’s help.

“The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked us [to resort to aerial sprinkling] last year. Right now, we have written to the Union Environment Ministry requesting them to speak to the Civil Aviation Ministry,” Delhi government spokesperson Nagendar Sharma said when told about the EPCA’s response. “Let’s see, what the Union Ministry has to say about the feasibility of the measure,” he added.

In November 2016, the NGT had rapped Delhi government for not taking timely preventive measures to curb pollution. It had said, “Why can’t you use helicopters to create artificial rain to control dust pollution?” Arvind Kejriwal’s cabinet seems to have sprung into action to avoid another embarrassment this year.

However, the party and the government is yet to think about the nitty-gritty of aerial sprinkling. Even though Hussain has already written to the Centre there is no clarity from where the other resources, and especially the water required, will be arranged from. As far as funds are concerned, Sharma said, “Air ambience fund [of DPCC] will be used.” The water could be “acquired from the Yamuna or from sources used to sprinkle water on Delhi roads,” he added.

AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj told Newslaundry, “Once we get in-principle approval from Government of India, all these logistics can be taken care of – like it happened during the implementation of odd-even policy.” He added that as far as acquiring water is concerned, “we can buy it from Haryana or UP. But if the Central government doesn’t agree – all these efforts will go in vain.” According to the Greater Kailash MLA, this might not be the best solution but “in an alarming situation,” something needs to be done. “If EPCA proposes something, in addition, we are ready to follow it. The government is already implementing recommendations of the GRAP.”

Now, it is up to the Central government whether Delhi will witness its first aerial sprinkling. Importantly, last year, when the national capital was grappling with even worse AQI levels a discussion around cloud seeding had started. However, for Delhi government, this still remains a distant idea. Sharma said so far there has been no brainstorming about the cloud seeding in India for tackling such a situation.

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