A Study on Delhi’s Perception & Accountability on Air Pollution Prepared by: URJA and ARK foundation | January, 2019 URJA, the apex body of RWAs in Delhi, was set up in 2005; it gathers, analyzes, disseminates information & aggregates public opinion to demand efficient delivery of civic amenities, health services, security, clean air and water to residents of Delhi through an accountable, efficient and responsive Government. We connect and network with around 2500 RWA apart from several significant NGOs of the city. Camp Office: A-194,Lower Ground Floor, Defence Colony, New Delhi-24. +91-11- 24333927 Email: [email protected] Table of Content : 1. Introduction and Objectives of the Study ............................................... 3 2. Survey .................................................................................................... 4 3. Characteristics of the Respondents in the Survey .................................. 5 4. Awareness about Air Pollution ................................................................ 7 5. RTI application under the RTI Act, 2005 filled by URJA ....................... 17 5.1 Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) ............................................. 17 5.2 Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) ........................................ 18 5.3 Public Works Department-PWD .......................................................... 20 5.4 Environmental Pollution Control Authority (EPCA)..……………………21 5.5 Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) ....................................... 24 5.6 Transport Department ........................................................................ 24 5.7 Ministry Of Petroleum and Natural Gas .............................................. 25 5.8 Delhi Jal Board .................................................................................... 25 5.9 Delhi Metro Rail Corporation-DMRC ................................................... 25 5.10 Delhi Police ....................................................................................... 25 5.11 The Municipal Corporation Of Delhi ................................................... 26 5.11.1 North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) ................................... 27 5.11.2 South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) .................................. 27 5.11.3 East Delhi Municipal Corporation- (EDMC) .................................... 28 5.11.4 Comparison between the replies of RTIs received with various MCDs ........................................................................................................ 28 6. Comparison between the replies of RTIs received with various State Govt. Dept. ................................................................................................ 29 7. Color AQI (Accountability Quality Index)………………………………… 30 2 I. Introduction and Objectives of the Study Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is the guiding principle for air pollution management for Delhi and NCR, pioneered by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and implemented by Environmental Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA). Despite a well thought-out GRAP notification from the Union Government and a Delhi specific comprehensive action plan from the CPCB1. The national capital saw alarming levels of air pollution in the winter of 2017-18 and even in the summer months of the gone year as per the CPCB data. In 2018 Delhi had 5 good pollution days, 66 moderate, 145 poor, 57 very poor and 92 severe days. GRAP was notified in January 2017, and kicks in only when pollution is moderate to poor instead of starting when the air is good. Untill now during emergency days we have seen there is little or no improvement in the air quality. Thus raising questions on its proper implementation during emergency days. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) are the agencies responsible for keeping tabs on air quality. These agencies are supposed to work in tandem to process the data further and inform EPCA of the air quality status. Based on this the EPCA in turn formulates the possible line of measures and convey them to the respective authorities. The authorities later are supposed to discuss them internally to figure out the course of action. This well laid out process very clearly identifies the agencies and their responsibilties. Based on this the United Resident Joint Action a body of the resident welfare association of Delhi, realising the dire need to assess the effectiveness of GRAP/CAP, conducted this study. With an objective to create a accountabilty index for various agencies responsible for implementing GRAP/CAP in Delhi. URJA also to find out the level of awareness (cause, effect, precaution & solution) among people - conducted a community survey along with ARK foundation. The survey questions were designed to convey the status of implementation of various measures listed under the Graded Response Action Plan. Highlights of the clean air action plan during emergency AQI : Diesel generators to be banned in Delhi as air pollution level has reached the ‘Very Poor’ level as the presence of PM2.5 or PM10 concentration in air is between 121-250µg/m3 or 351-430 µg/m3 respectively. The other measures listed to be adopted when the air quality level dips to the ‘Very Poor’ level are : ⎯ Enhancement of parking fee by 3-4 times. ⎯ Increase of bus and metro services by augmenting contract buses and increasing frequency of service. ⎯ Stop use of coal or firewood in hotels and open eateries. ⎯ Resident welfare associations and individual house owners to provide electric heaters during winter to security staff to avoid open burning by them. 1 Submitted to the Supreme Court by CPCB in December 2016 3 ⎯ Issue alert in newspapers, television, radio to advise people with respiratory and cardiac patients to avoid polluted areas and restrict outdoor movement1. II. Survey A survey was conducted by URJA and ARK foundation among people in 10 locations including Institutions/Agencies like MCD, RWA, Hospitals & Schools . The survey collected data interacting with 509 residents (200 Female & 309 Male) covering minimum 50 people from each locations. The following two are the major observation. 1. Most people covered in the study are not aware about any Air Pollution Monitoring happening. 2. There are many people who do not know pollution level issues also. Structure of the questionnaire: The questionnaire contains a mix of closed-ended and open-ended questions. Besides socio- demographic information, the questionnaire has three main sections: 1) General Questions 2) Health Related Questions 3) Policy/Scheme Related Questions. The questionnaire is attached in the Annexure of this document. Limitations of the study: This survey has been conducted in and around 10 identified locations. It is based on random sampling and the target group of the survey respondents is not defined. This questionnaire has been administered with the respondents who volunteered and provided consent to respond to our field researchers. Therefore, the results of this survey are representative. The survey questionnaire was administered across the wards covered in a 2 km radius around the identified 10 locations in Delhi where CPCB monitors have been installed : a. Anand Vihar b. Ashok Vihar c. Dwarka d. ITO e. Lodhi Road f. Patparganj g. Rohini h. R K Puram i. Siri Fort j. Bawana 4 Location wise distribution of respondents Location-wise Distribution of Respondents BAWANA ANAND VIHAR 11% 10% ANAND VIHAR ASHOK VIHAR SIRI FORT 10% ASHOK VIHAR 10% DWARKA DWARKA 9% ITO ROHINI LODHI ROAD 10% PATPAR GANJ ITO R.K PURAM R.K PURAM 10% 10% ROHINI PATPAR GANJ LODHI ROAD SIRI FORT 10% 10% BAWANA III. Characteristics of the Respondents in the Survey Profile of Respondents: Age Group 40 35 30 25 20 15 <15 10 5 16-30 0 31-50 NO OF RESPONDNETS >50 LOCATIONS Profile of Respondents: Gender 50 40 30 20 10 FEMALE 0 MALE NO OF RESPONDENTS LOCATIONS 5 Profile of Respondents: Occupation 50 40 30 Student 20 AXIS TITLE Govt. Services 10 0 NGO Pvt. Services Unemployed AXIS TITLE Profile of Respondnets: Type of Locations 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 Commercial 10 5 0 Privilege NO OF RESPONDNETS Slum LOCATIONS Profile of Respondents: Living Years in Delhi 40 35 30 25 20 <10 years 15 10 10-20 years NO FO RESPONDENTS 5 0 20-30 years >30 years LOCATIONS 6 IV. Awareness about Air Pollution Majority of the people in Delhi is not happy with the air quality and as compared to the last year, the air quality hasn’t improved much. A sense of awareness is there among the people about the causes and effects of air pollution. Are you satisfied with air quality of Delhi? Satisfied with Air Quality of Delhi? SIRI FORT ROHINI R.K PURAM PATPAR GANJ LODHI ROAD ITO YES LOCATIONS DWARKA NO BAWANA ASHOK VIHAR ANAND VIHAR 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 NO OF RESPONDENTS ü 71% are not satisfied with the air quality in Delhi How would you rate the overall air quality in your city now compared to last year? Rating of Air Quality as compared to Last 60 Year ANAND 50 VIHAR ASHOK VIHAR 40 DWARKA ITO 30 LODHI ROAD 20 PATPAR GANJ NO OF RESPONDENTS R.K PURAM 10 ROHINI 0 A LITTLE ABOUT THE LITTLE MUCH MUCH WORSE SAME BETTER BETTER WORSE RESPONSE CATEGORIES 7 ü 43% RESPONDENTS HAVE SHARED THAT IT IS LITTLE BETTER BUT ü 30% RESPONDENTS HAVE SHARED THAT IT IS LITTLE WORSE THAN THE LAST YEAR. ü ONLY 7% THINK THAT IT IS THE SAME AS LAST YEAR, ü 9% THINK IT IS MUCH WORSE AND ü 10% THINK IT IS MUCH BETTER. Does air