The air quality of Delhi and the National Capital region (NCR) has become synonymous with health hazard. Years of policies and actions with crores of funds spent, but the situation still continues to bother. The residents are suffering from health issues and experiencing a reduction in life expectancy. The cities of the country are topping the global pollution charts year after year. India, which is home to a population of billions, happens to be one of the worst affected countries when it comes to air pollution. The air quality of Delhi-NCR attracts so much limelight that the air quality of other cities, which happens to be poor as well, does not gather due attention. Since the pollution levels of cities vary considerably, targeted action and customised policies are required for them to improve. It is time India actively promotes a healthy competition among cities at the municipal levels to deliver better services for citizens.
The polluted environment in residential areas is indirectly a violation of the Right to Life, which includes access to decent environmental services. Countless Indians are subject to living in polluted surroundings with no recourse. Moreover, one cannot ignore that we are a developing country with humble per capital income figures which indicates that many of us cannot afford any solution to this problem. When a problem causing injury to the people cannot be avoided, it must be compensated at least.
The Government of India provides Dearness Allowance to its employees for the inflation adjustments based on the cities they inhabit. This is to compensate for the virtual income lost due to the inflationary economy. Similarly, the policymakers must think about a pollution compensation paid to employees to compensate for the environmental damages they suffer by residing in a polluted city. The rates of compensation may differ based on the pollution levels of cities graded in a systematic manner. The cities may be graded and assessed based on the databases such as National Air Quality Index from the Central Pollution Control Board.
Previously, we have seen a comprehensive exercise in the form of Swachh Survekshan to rate cities based on their sanitation performance. A similar exercise to map the pollution levels including air, water, and noise would be fruitful to inculcate a spirit of commitment to the pollution mitigation at the municipal level. The cities which are providing a better quality of life, must be recognised and rewarded.
The government may start with such employee welfare policies of pollution compensation. Later, the private sector may also be mandated to comply with the same. This would help decongest the metropolitan regions of India which have been characterised by unsustainable corporate growth. The skewed development that India has witnessed post-liberalisation is somewhat attributable to the clustered-based development of privatised businesses. With infrastructure development in tier-2 cities catching up and the avenues opened up by digital infrastructure, many cities with better environmental offerings may benefit from the capital inflows that may result owing to such decentralisation.
To nudge companies towards sustainability compliance, the government may grade the industries as well with more polluting industries having to compensate more to the employees for pollution. Similarly, companies with better performance on environmental indicators may be provided with a leverage or an offsetting option. Depending upon the performance of such policy measures, the beneficiaries could be expanded, and the common people may become a part of it through innovative financial plans.
The National Indicator Framework 3.9.2 related to Sustainable Development Goal 3, reflects the proportion of people reporting asthma in the age group range 15-49. Combating air pollution and boosting health coverage can help us perform better in this regard. Such policies may help employees cover their medical expenses and health insurance premiums, as the insurance companies are considering hiking premiums for specific location-based individuals who are at a greater risk of medical care mainly due to air quality issues.
Climate finance instruments such as parametric insurance are becoming increasingly popular as a risk management tool to avoid financial losses resulting due to climatic catastrophes. This year we have seen several landslides, floods, and drought that could be linked to climatic factors. As policy measures are gearing up to protect businesses from climatic disasters, they must level up as well to protect the common person from the health impacts of pollution.
Fairness concerns have been raised against penalising people for living in polluted surroundings by the insurance industry. However, industry needs to cover its costs as the frequency of claims from these locations is usually higher due to obvious reasons. The question boils down to the proposition about who pays for the people’s health affected due to pollution, especially when the pollution is a result of complex processes involving multiple actors. Usually, workers are compensated for work-related hazards they are exposed to. However, the liability of compensation becomes difficult to establish when the hazard arises out of natural resources, as they are not polluted by a particular entity solely. Historically, the State has led the way in ensuring environmental justice particularly in the polities characterised by welfarism.
India has emerged as a global leader in climatic action and is serving as a role model for many countries of the Global South. It needs to show the way which could be emulated by other countries as well result in environmental justice across the globe. Such mitigation action, if emboldened, may enable adaptive actions in a much better way. The message must be loud and clear that pollution, if it cannot be avoided, must be compensated for.
Aakash Bajpai is student of Indian Institute of Forest Management and an alumnus of Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth