Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR & Adjoining Areas : Daily Current Affairs

Relevance: GS-3: Conservation, Environmental pollution and degradation, Environmental impact assessment.

Key Phrases: Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and adjoining areas (CAQM), Air pollution, National Capital Region, Environment Pollution Control Authority, Environment Protection Act, 1986.

Why in News?

Recently the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and adjoining areas (CAQM) has formulated a comprehensive policy to abate the menace of air pollution in Delhi-NCR, in a step toward overall amelioration of the air quality of the National Capital Region (NCR) through differentiated geographical approach and timelines of action.
Air quality panel is pushing for rapid transition to natural gas and reliable supply of electricity to curb pollution in NCR and adjoining areas.

About CAQM

Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region (NCR) and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) was established by the CAQM Ordinance, 2020 and CAQM, Act 2021.
The Act provides for the constitution of a Commission for better co-ordination, research, identification, and resolution of problems related to air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR) and adjoining areas.
Adjoining areas have been defined as areas in the states of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh adjoining the NCR where any source of pollution may cause adverse impact on air quality in the NCR.
Apart from consolidating all agencies that monitored, investigated and planned mitigation of air pollution in the region, the commission has replaced the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) which had been running for 22 years.

Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA)

EPCA was constituted with the objective of ‘protecting and improving’ the quality of the environment and ‘controlling environmental pollution’ in the National Capital Region. The EPCA also assists the apex court in various environment-related matters in the region.
EPCA is Supreme Court mandated body tasked with taking various measures to tackle air pollution in the National Capital Region. It was notified in 1998 by Environment Ministry under Environment Protection Act, 1986.

What are the powers of the CAQM?

The Commission is the most powerful air pollution monitoring body set up by the Centre to date.
The rulings by the Commission on air pollution will override anything contained in any other law.
The powers of the Commission will also supersede that of any other body in matters of air pollution. Therefore, in cases where conflict may arise between orders or directions issued by the other State governments, State Pollution Control Boards or even the Central Pollution Control Board, the orders of the Commission will prevail.
The Commission will have the power to take measures, issue directions and entertain complaints “for the purpose of protecting and improving the quality of air in the National Capital Region”.
It will also coordinate action taken by states on air pollution and will lay down parameters for air quality and emission or discharge of environmental pollutants.
It will also have powers to restrict industries in any area, carry out random inspections of any premises including factories and be able to close down an industry or cut its power and water supply in case of non-compliance.
It will also be monitoring the measures taken by the States to prevent stubble burning.

Key highlights of the comprehensive policy formulated by CAQM:

Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and adjoining areas (CAQM) recommended a uniform pricing policy for natural gas in the region pointing out that with the key commodity being outside the purview of the GST, State taxes are making it costlier.
As per the policy
- All thermal power plants located within 300 kilometre radius of Delhi will have to ensure compliance with emission standards as per the deadline set by the Ministry of Environment and Forest.
- The policy talks about
  - phasing out diesel-run auto-rickshaws in Gurugram, Faridabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad by December 31, 2024 and
  - the remaining districts in the National Capital Region (NCR) by December 31, 2026.
- Only Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and electric autos will be registered in NCR from January 1, 2023.
- Fuels pumps in Delhi-NCR will not give fuel to vehicles not having a valid pollution-under-check certificate from January 1, 2023.
- Tax structure to be rationalised for the NCR sub-regions till the time GST reforms are possible to make gas more competitive and enable its rapid adoption to replace coal and other dirty fuels in the region.
- State governments have been asked to implement a scrappage policy for end-of-life vehicles that cannot be used anymore.
- The use of coal in the industrial application will be banned from January 1, 2023.
- To prevent stubble burning, Punjab and Haryana will have to utilise 6 million tonnes and 2 million tonnes of paddy straw industrial applications, respectively as well as thermal power plants, biomass power and production of bio-fuels by December 31, 2026.
The policy also stressed the need to upscale the application of bio-decomposer solution, which decomposes paddy straw.
For effective traffic management, the policy mandates the development of early warning systems to inform commuters and plan route diversions in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad districts.
It also focuses on strengthening the quality of air pollution data and filling gaps through sensor-based monitoring to cover rural and peri-urban areas.

Do you know?

Peri-urban areas are zones of transition from rural to urban land uses, located between the outer limits of urban and regional centres and the rural environment. The boundaries of peri-urban areas are porous and transitory as urban development extends into rural and industrial land.
The air quality in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) is one of the worst in the world, as per a WHO survey of 1,650 world cities.
Air pollution in India is the fifth largest killer and it is estimated to kill about 2 million people every year.
In Delhi, poor quality air damages irreversibly the lungs of 2.2 million or 50 percent of all children.
Air quality index of Delhi is generally
- Good (0–50), Satisfactory (51–100), to Moderate (101–200) levels between March to September, and
- then it drastically deteriorates to Poor (201–300), Very Poor (301–400), Severe (401–500) or Hazardous (500+) levels during October to February due to various factors including stubble burning, road dust, vehicle pollution, and cold weather.
Seeing the past trend, the air quality index of Delhi is likely to range between Poor, Very Poor, Severe, or Hazardous levels between January 2022 to February.

Source: The Hindu BL

Mains Question:

Q. Discuss the recommendations of the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas to curb the menace of pollution in Delhi NCR. (250 words).