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Reducing vehicular pollution

Young Bites. Dated: 11/21/2017 6:49:47 AM

Most of the Indian rivers are today toxic beyond compare. Groundwater, a major source of drinking water, is also becoming polluted and extremely scarce. Air pollution in Indian cities is also growing rapidly. The Supreme Court’s ruling that prohibits the sale of vehicles which do not meet Bharat Stage IV fuel and emission norms from April 1 is a welcome step but also a shocking one for the automotive industry. The apex court’s observation that life is more important than profit is to be welcomed. There is no doubt that increased vehicular pollution, particularly from commercial vehicles, has contributed immensely towards increased pollution levels.While the government and civic bodies are creating regulatory mechanisms to control pollution, isn’t it time enterprises who are a key contributor in this space come together and do something about this? Today in India, enterprises are increasingly coming together in their own ways to mitigate the effect of pollution and other environmental hazards. In India all pollution control measures are based on the three major acts: The Water act (1974), The Air act (1981) and The Environment protection Act of (1986). Recently pollution limits of industries have been tightened, decades old and outdated norms have been updated. However, there are still gaps in matching global best practice and control measures. For instance, Orange and Green category industries are not rigorously monitored as the Red category industries. Pollution control measures and solutions are not based on technological advancement. Enterprises have a far significant role to play in the management of Pollution Control. While governance and mandatory compliance is critical, corporates must also actively encourage its ecosystem of employees, vendors, and stakeholders, etc to come together and join the cause. Incentives and laxation of attendance rules during CSR activities, regular workshops for vendors and active support for the cause through social and digital media etc. will go a long way in raising awareness and support for their initiatives. Power plants, industries and vehicles are the biggest sources of pollution. The rate with which vehicular pollution is growing is absolutely astonishing. Air pollution will be the biggest leveller because it will affect both the rich and the poor. But the rich will be able to afford the cost of dealing with chronic asthma and cancer whereas the poor will not be able to do so. In other words, India’s wealth will be built on the backs of its poor, its elderly, its children and those genetically susceptible. Not on the back of the economy but on the back of public health. Household detergents should also be allowed to fall in rivers on their lower level side after the town. In the same way effluents from industries should not be allowed to go into fields and water reservoirs where fish population is present. The tank that are used for supply of drinking water (by man and his animals) should not be used for washing. Similarly the water from fields in which weedicides or pesticides were sprayed should be kept away from water reservoir. Also water from factories should be kept away from drinking water reservoirs.