A Hundred Reasons, One Solution: Implement

We bring together voices from a St. Stephen’s College chat group, expressing a variety of concerns on issues. An effort to make such chats useful by bringing them into public domain, for greater dissemination, we bring a selection of such opinions.

Emissions at Korba were Minimised, why not Elsewhere?

Korba in Chhattisgarh has one of the highest concentrations of thermal power plants (about 3000 MW and more) — it is practically the URJA capital of the country. Right from 1985, when it was described as the “ash chamber of India”, and the then Chief Minister constituted a high-level committee to find solutions, there has been a concerted effort to resolve pollution issues. This included installation of electro-static precipitators and other devices to contain the ash which would otherwise spew out in dense clouds and pollute the town. That ash is dumped into ash-dykes/ponds by pumping it as a slurry by pipeline (earlier it was carted in open trucks). It would thicken like cake and we would grow plants over it, but in the summers the ash would nevertheless fly across and inundate the city. Vehicles would get a layer of ash by the morning. So, watering and sprinkling of the ash ponds was felt necessary. That was a serious problem in view of water shortages. However, thanks to persistent efforts the AQI levels in Korba are significantly better than in Delhi. Today, the feeling in Delhi is somewhat similar to that of Korba of the 80s. There is a need to look into this aspect as also to prevent the sand stored at construction sites which is only partially covered and dry — so it easily flies across streets.

– Raghav Chandra, IAS retd, author and Public Policy columnist

A White Paper on Issues and Solutions is Yet to Emerge

Someone made a sensible suggestion that an emergency should be declared and a proper task force formed. Which should start with publishing a definitive and final conclusive report on exactly what factors affect pollution levels, when and by how much. Even that is not clear since there are so many conflicting reports!  This task force should be made accountable to and provide regular progress reports to the Supreme Court, and tackle this issue programmatically. Given the number of variables and complexities involved, solutions will take time to have an effect, but at least there will be public recognition and transparency on progress. All we have now is a blame game going on, a temporary flare up of public concern and very low accountability all around.

– Rahul Khosla, formerly with the Max Group as Group CEO

Turning Off Coal Plants is Not an Easy Solution

Turning off coal-based power plants, though desirable, is not possible in India for at least a decade, if not more. You need a continuous flow of electrons into the grid. Coal based power is the largest continuous source of electrons in the Indian electrical grid.  Our hydro and nuclear power generation is far below our need. Renewable power is intermittent and far below our requirement; enough storage is also not available. The country’s financial, rail transport, communication and elevator system is heavily dependent on a continuous supply of electricity.

If we shut the power, diesel gensets will switch on immediately. Continuous construction activity of various kinds, and national construction and reconstruction, unchecked sand and stone mining, all contribute to dust particles. A large section of small-scale industry and brick kilns fire their coal-based boilers and kilns after sunset, and no satellite will catch the smoke. When the wind movements are static, the cocktail of smog hangs in the air. Both measured particulate matter count is around 550 ppm right now in the less crowded part of Gurgaon. I wish there were many counters spread over the country, including our national capital. It may increase public consciousness and a feeling of guilt among the major polluters.

CHINA is Racing to a Future purportedly to isolate Itself from the Global Fossilized Crisis , sans the irony that with 1200-1300GW of Coal Based Power Generation and another 4000MW on the plan it is camouflaging this development by Substantial Equivalent Scale of Renewable Energy Assets. It is clear, China’s Peak Shaving Challenges on the Grid is served by 400GW+ of Hydro Energy and another 44GW of Pumped Storage to operate in tandem with Base Load Thermal Power. So Solar (Conversion Efficiency 20%), Wind (Conversion Efficiency 25%) get averaged out to fill the Base Load Gap & Creeping Build-Up as Infirm Solid State Capacity (No Flexibility) in operation.

So, it is Hydropower, PSPs and Gas Power Plants in combo that keep them in a Zone of Surplus. Critical to Upgrade and Scale the GDP Economics Traction the way they have achieved.

– Anil Razdan, IAS retd, and former Secretary Power

Reduction of Transhumance Practices and Traditional Pastoralism

An often-overlooked factor contributing to declining air quality and the rise in forest fires is the reduction of transhumance practices associated with traditional pastoralism. Historically, farmers and nomadic pastoralists shared a mutually beneficial relationship. Farmers would allow pastoralists to graze their herds, particularly goats, on their land. These animals not only fed on the stubble and weeds, but they also enriched the soil through natural fertilisation.

However, the expansion of road networks and the restriction of grazing rights along migratory routes have fractured this relationship, leading to increased forest fires and escalating human-wildlife conflicts. Beyond the impact of stubble burning in Punjab, Diya Kumari’s project to convert the leopard and wolf habitat in Godwar Kumbhalgarh into a tiger sanctuary has exacerbated these issues. Forest fires have surged, and, for the first time, man-eating leopards have appeared. Tigers, unlikely to thrive in this transformed environment, add to the crisis, leaving livestock communities and farmers anxious and unprotected—yet their concerns seem largely ignored.

– Navin Jaffa, Author, Award winning Artist

A Combination of Approaches is the Need of the Hour

I saw an interview with Atishi where she said that Delhi Government is waiting for clearance to make artificial rain. Interesting that rain is expected to clean the air and make it easier for us to see sunshine and bluer skies. Beijing did a great job during the Olympics with a combination of approaches. Artificial rain was prominent amongst them. The other main effort was to reduce vehicular traffic drastically. Atishi mentioned that Delhi government is going to come up with serious checks on diesel vehicles entering Delhi as she believes they are a major problem.

– Sunil Lal, IFS retd, former ambassador

Solutions are Available, we Need the Will to Act

I am not a know-it-all or I consider myself a wise guy. I am posting it because of deep frustration. The solutions for NCR, indeed for several large cities, are available, are straightforward but are large – big problems necessarily need large scale solutions. We don’t need to shift the Capital city or seek the help of China to solve our problems. In fact, I have advised a couple of Chinese cities on sustainability solutions in the past – been there a hundred times. The extreme frustration stems from lack of decision making, silo working of government, lack of holistic planning and execution. And of course the standard bureaucratic response “pahle kar ke dikhaye India mein”. The problems of the NCR are manifold – Yamuna degradation into a gutter, waste dumping & handling, road congestion and casualties, significant reduction of productivity due to a horrendous mobility situation, a huge shortage of public spaces, too many private vehicles, emissions from power plants, leaching of ground water, toxic emissions directly impacting a few million people in the neighbourhood of the 2 mountains in Delhi, and several more.

I was frustrated because I was one of the 20-member Executive Committee of the erstwhile Green Growth Leaders in Copenhagen. We used to invite a couple of hundred global mayors twice a year and talk to them about sustainable growth. But, in India, no one was willing or able to address our own problems. There is great concern about what we are facing in this toxic city. Maybe it is time to talk about the solutions!

– Ranbir (Ranu) Das, Founder, chairman and MD, Fairwood Group

A Careful Study is the First Requirement!

A complex multi-factorial problem like pollution control needs interventions on a broad front in short and long-term time frames involving individuals, civil society organizations and governments, at the central and state level. But it is important to stress that the primary leadership must come from the Central government. They have the resources and should be the repository of the expertise to sustain the effort over many years. Citizens’ initiatives should trigger government action but not seek to replace it.

A learning from my time as a McKinsey consultant was that the first step in crafting an intervention is to carefully study solutions that already exist and see if and how they can be adapted to the current problem. I had proposed looking at China’s experience in that context.

There are no magic bullets available; but with parrots turning into crows, it’s time to pivot to look outside the box.

– Kanwarjit Singh, working physician in the biotech sector, worked with McKinsey and the Gates Foundation