Centre rejects U.S. report saying ‘Indians lose six years of their lives because of pollution’

New Delhi: The Government today rejected the study on pollution published in the Geophysical Research Letters Journal of the American Geophysical Union, which states that Indians lose six years of their lives because of pollution, saying that the Ministry of Earth Sciences does not subscribe to any of the conclusions emerging out of the reported study.

“We reject the claims made in the so-called research article that Indians lose six years of their lives because of pollution. The Ministry of Earth Sciences does not agree with the study and has completely rejected the study. The Ministry of Earth Sciences has made it clear that it does not subscribe to any of the conclusions emerging out of the reported study,” Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said.

Stating that the study is based on regional atmospheric chemistry model and statistical algorithm to construct estimates and this is based on studies in Europe and America, which have been extrapolated on India, he asserted that this study has not been done on sampling and has not been done on ground studying and it is not based on long-term observations.

“The Government is serious about tackling pollution. India recognises pollution as a major problem and we are tackling it very seriously. But there are other pollutants also that are harmful to health. Ozone is a pollutant that has an adverse impact on life and which is predominantly present in California. NOx is another pollutant, which is present much more in Mexico, UAE and China, than in India. SOx is also another pollutant that is serious,” Javadekar said.

He further said that due to the neglect over the last ten years, India recognised that pollution problem has become serious, particularly in cities which arise out of four reasons – vehicular pollution, industrial pollution, biomass burning and improper waste disposal and dust.

“The Government is tackling all these issues on a priority basis. We have pre-poned migration to Bharat VI norms for fuel and vehicles, both petrol and diesel. The quality will be international in four years. To tackle dust, Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules have been formulated for the first time,” he said.

“Within the next six months, it will be implemented in all the major cities and will be implemented throughout the country in one year’s time. We are building capacities and we will not allow the debris to be thrown anywhere and all dust-related activities will have to be undertaken with a cover along with full mitigation measures. So, there will be no dust pollution. All other Waste Management Rules have been revamped,” the Union Minister added.

Highlighting that the Centre has made emission norms more stringent for all industries, Javadekar said that it will reduce the pollution load on all industries, adding that the government is tackling pollution-related issues very effectively, which had not been addressed for the last 10 years. (ANI)