Who would have thought that the mad race for development and progress can be paused by this COVID? And, humanity would be forced to think whether it is going in the correct direction or not? Questions are being raised over endless and aimless economic development. People who were crying for sustainable development, are now finding themselves vindicated.
Whether to call it a soft reset or divine intervention, this Covid-19 led situation has provided an opportunity in the form of various surprising and illuminating evidence to think about what we are doing and why we are doing. The importance of nature, and living a natural life, was completely a forgotten phenomenon to all of us. The scope of spoil ranged from personal lifestyle to the policies of the state, which were motivated by lust towards economic prosperity only. We always used to hear an expression since our childhood that “necessity is the mother of invention”, however, what we have been witnessing is that “invention has become the mother of necessity”. Hence if something is invented it eventually becomes the necessity of our life, even if we don’t need it.
The number of pleasant changes we have been witnessing in Delhi during recent times is sufficient enough to open our eyes and think beyond. We are now breathing cleaner and fresh air, having clear skies, clean river water, flourishing flowers on the trees, negligible level of noise, sighting rare breed of birds as well as welcoming animals on the streets. Governments are thinking of amending their policies towards sustainable development. People have started feeling the importance of their family and everyone got a shake in trust of his/her abilities and has started believing in the repercussions of going against nature and perhaps also the acknowledgement of the destiny.
Environmental changes
There has been significant improvement in the air quality of Delhi during the time of coronavirus. Looking at the data by Central Pollution Control Board, air quality index of Ashok Vihar in Delhi on 5th January is 375 whereas the same index on 5th May is just 74. Surprisingly, these days one can witness clean and sparkling leaves on trees which were always dust-laden during erstwhile days. However, it is strongly believed that once the lockdown is lifted the condition of breathing problem, hazy grey skies, dust, froth filled poisonous river water etc will get back.
Pollution caused by traffic emissions, constructions dust, and industrial pollutants has been a constant irritant in Delhi. These irritants do not work in a standalone mode, but are intertwined and can be understood from a supply-demand perspective. The city has a limited capacity to host people but the population is bursting in Delhi. These days we are also witnessing huge problems of sending migrant labourers back to their homes who came to metros and big cities in search of “better life”. Now, the time has come that the concept of “better life” juxtaposed with “state failure” needs to be understood in conjunction with the prevailing deterioration in the environmental parameters.
Vehicular distress
Long back in the early 80s, India decided to give private transport a thrust instead of public transport (in the form of a charming and so-called affordable new Maruti). This went further ahead after the liberalisation of the economy in the 90s, which opened floodgates for vehicle production at a mass level. This was sandwiched with liberal credit lending policies of the banking system, thinking it as an economic booster. Empowering everyone with personal transport contributed to the pollution level immensely. Also, this made the public walk bare minimum which added to the health woes. Mr P. N. Haksar, the then Principal Secretary of Ex-Prime Minister of India Mrs Indira Gandhi offered a staunch opposition to the idea of Maruti. He strongly advocated a thrust on public transport but Indira prevailed, and thereafter the country saw a huge surge in personal transport, over the years.
UK began its Tube operation in 1863, US had it during the late nineteenth century, Mass Rapid Transit System in Singapore came in 1987, Seoul Metropolitan Subway in 1974, the Rio de Janeiro Metro in 1979, Kuala Lumpur Metro came in 1998 etc. But the Delhi Metro started in 2002 and is still crying for last-mile connectivity. Delhi Metro is also waiting for its marriage with robust bus transport system, to make it a successful public transport system and minimising car usage. Delhi at present has more than 7 million two-wheelers and 3.4 million four-wheelers, and with this magnitude, vehicles contribute 40% of the total pollution load of the city. It would be interesting to compare Beijing and Delhi on vehicular pollution aspect, by looking at the table given below.
| Cities | Area (Sq Km) | No. of Cars (million) | Density of Cars |
| Beijing | 16,808 | 6 | 357 |
| Delhi | 1484 | 3.4 | 2292 |
The density of cars in Delhi is huge as compared to Beijing. Also, the population density of Delhi is 30000 people per sq mile whereas Beijing is 3400 per sq mile. Therefore Delhi is much denser than Beijing, which is a historic town planning failure. This huge car density in Delhi can be reduced using good public transport. Let’s compare Beijing with Delhi, here too. Beijing subway carries more than 10 million people per day, whereas Delhi Metro carries 1.5 million passengers per day. Of course, it does not depends only on the presence of Metro and other public transport, but also on the “will” of the people to shun private transport. However, the “will” can never be forced, its “nudged”.
The purchase restriction policy in China has immensely influenced the reduction in the number of cars. We need to remember that in Delhi it is just not the Delhi registered vehicles which are plying on the road but also the daily commuters from adjoining states as well as inter-state taxis. A well-considered policy on restriction to purchase of a new car as well as inter-state commuting can be a good solution, but only once a capable public transport exists. Therefore, any policy on curbing vehicles would not be successful until or unless it is joined by a “deeply penetrated”, “user friendly” and “good quality” public transport.
To bring inter-state commuting down; there is a greater need to disperse the activities from Delhi to NCR. Vehicle taxation can be introduced but would not be a sustainable idea as these people are coming for their jobs. We need the National Capital Region to grow, and the ‘counter magnet areas’ in neighbouring states, so that people commuting into Delhi can be diverted. The National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) was formed in 1985 for this purpose, but much is required to be done by it.
At present due to COVID, the vehicular concentration on road is a bare minimum and the positive effect of it is readily visible in the form of clear air and skies. Would we be able to make some headway in making the vehicular transport see some drastic transformation post COVID?
Construction dust
According to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) officials, 30 per cent of air pollution is caused due to dust which comes out from construction sites. Constructions of new buildings, apartments and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) etc have likewise assumed a critical role in bringing down the air quality. The residue being created because of these progressing ventures is causing a lofty ascent in Particulate Matter (PM)-10. As indicated by data, PM-10 records for more than 30 per cent contamination in the National Capital.
Apart from these approved projects, various illegal constructions also make merry in between and add to this trash. Government has laid down various dust preventing guidelines for its approved projects to minimise dust pollution, but the implementation and enforcement of these guidelines remains a mirage. Due to COVID based lockdown, all the construction work is at the halt and the air is worth breathing in Delhi. Would we be able to make it a norm post-COVID also?
Industrial pollution
As per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi is surrounded by intensely polluting industrial clusters along with coal-fired power plant. They have not only spoiled the air but also the groundwater, as well as the soil. The Najafgarh-Drain basin including Anand Parbat, Naraina, Okhla, Wazirpur (Delhi) in the south-eastern outskirts of Delhi stands as a second most polluting cluster of India. It is a major factor in making the air of Delhi toxic. Pollution control on these polluting units is the job of the state, and National Green Tribunal has been very active in making it enforced. But still, things are worse than bad. Coal-fired plants around New Delhi were still operating without installing equipment to cut emissions of sulphur oxides.
In 2013, Beijing’s administration decided to stop using coal in the large power-plants that supply electricity to the capital and its 21 million inhabitants. By 2015, three of its four coal-fired power plants had been shut down and have switched to natural gas. Natural gas seems to be a viable and eco-friendly option to defeat this problem. The current lockdown has restricted the industrial operation and the positive effect of this is visible. Can we be able to breathe the same air post-COVID? What would be the fate of these polluting industries near Delhi?
Migration woes
The solution to any problem never lies in suppressing its symptoms or trying to revive it under an existing set of variables. Until or unless the genesis of the problem is studied and acknowledged, the solution either remains cosmetic, unviable or unsustainable. The bursting of cities with a migrant population is a great concern for us today. There is a need to look into the genesis of it as well as a finding a long-lasting solution. COVID times have shown that a huge unskilled migration was a norm in big cities. A big chunk of unskilled/semi-skilled migrant workers is now trying to go back to their native places. These people had left their homes to go to big cities and live in a highly uncomfortable and unhygienic condition, considering this as an uplift in their “quality of life”, perhaps a misnomer.
Lee’s migration theory does speak of push and pull factors which are both socio-economic driven. But we were never made to understand the complacency of the state in letting out-migration to happen without any control. We understood the concepts of ‘market failure’ but resisted learning what a ‘state failure’ is. Migration is a result of various socio-economic factors which are indirect consequences of some sort of state failure, if not an intended one. Provision of a better livelihood, health services, education, social bonding and freedoms of various sorts are important parameters of one’s judgment on planning a migration. Migration is a highly useful phenomenon as it arrives with skills and contributes to human capital development of receiving regions. But the profile and quantum of migrant population matter considerably.
Delhi has the second-highest population of inter-state migrants in India with over 6.5 million. This is around 35% of the total population of Delhi. UP, Bihar, Jharkhand are the biggest contributors. Majority of these migrant workers are having basic literacy level and work in blue-collar jobs. There is a strong social component to these migrations also. Blue-collar job migration is also dominated by schedule caste, which shows that they are subjected to greater socio-economic pressure to migrate than others.
Should the people’s movement be in consonance with the quantum and the category of skills in demand at the receiving location? Or the migration should be a completely free phenomenon like the wind flowing from one area to another? The major question proposed here is that who owns these migrants? In a federal structure of governance, who is responsible towards the people? Is it the Union Government, State government from where the migration happened or the State government where the migrants have landed? Or is it simply that the migrants are left to their own destiny? Sharp questions but need pondering.
We all know that migration is an integral component of a robust economy, but we must not forget that migration needs to be productive and regulated, as various countries have been reframing their immigration policies. Migration should be a balanced phenomenon, and the receiving region should not be made to bear the adverse consequences of the mal-governance of the sending one. Would a filtering inter-state migration policy can be an option? Would the sending region make some introspection into their state of affairs and work for creating jobs for people who move out?
Think, think, act!
Let me end with a verse of famous Urdu poet Mir Taqi Mir.
“There was a city, famed throughout the world,
where dwelt the chosen spirits of the age;
Delhi its name, fairest among the fair.
fate looted it and laid it desolate,
and to that ravaged city I belong”
COVID times have shaken all of us and we are made to acknowledge that the follies we have been committing for ages can be rectified if we think and work towards it. It is seen that the same nature which we have been spoiling for ages can rebound to normal within no time. It’s such a resilient entity. It is giving us a chance that things are still not that bad. We can make things better. Let us see, how the world takes the lesson out of this shock and mends its future course. Delhi, a great place, a place for the people with great heart, certainly deserves better.
(Views are personal)
