Jairam Ramesh demands clean air reforms, says right to breathe more fundamental than ease of doing business

New Delhi, Nov 9 (UNI) Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Narendra Modi government over what he described as its persistent denial of the devastating public health consequences of air pollution, citing a new FICCI-EY report which estimates that nearly two million people died in India in 2023 due to pollution-related causes.

Calling for urgent and comprehensive policy reforms, he argued that the right to breathe clean air was far more fundamental than the government's emphasis on improving the ease of doing business. In a strongly worded post on social media platform X, Ramesh said the government had repeatedly rejected studies highlighting the mortality burden of air pollution, both inside and outside Parliament, questioning their India-specific relevance or arguing that deaths could not be directly and uniquely attributed to pollution. However, he said the latest FICCI-EY report had presented compelling evidence of the magnitude of the crisis.

According to the report, approximately two million deaths, accounting for nearly 22 per cent of all deaths in the country in 2023, were attributable to air pollution. Describing the findings as yet another wake-up call, Ramesh said, "Ease of doing business is fine but ease of breathing is even more fundamental." He warned that exposure to fine particulate matter, particularly PM2.5, had emerged as a major public health threat across several parts of the country.

The Congress leader maintained that neither the scientific evidence nor the policy prescriptions required to address the crisis were new. He said the FICCI-EY report provided an important, clearly phased, 10-year roadmap for national action, arguing that its recommendations could no longer be allowed to remain on paper. Ramesh outlined three major priorities for tackling the pollution emergency.

First, he called for tightening India's existing standards for PM2.5 and ground-level ozone to bring them in line with the safety guidelines recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Second, he demanded a comprehensive overhaul of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), with a sharper emphasis on reducing people's exposure to PM2.5 and ground-level ozone rather than relying on incremental interventions. His third proposal was the introduction of a new Clean Air Act, centred explicitly on public health, to replace the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. He argued that the existing legislative framework needed a fundamental reassessment in view of the substantial scientific evidence accumulated over the decades about the sources of air pollution and its consequences for human health.

Ramesh also questioned whether the government could dismiss the findings of the latest report, given the institutional standing of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), one of the country's leading apex industry organisations, and its longstanding role in India's economic and policy discourse. "The Modi Govt surely cannot dismiss this analysis from the country's leading apex industry body that has had such a long and distinguished history," he said.

The report's findings have brought renewed attention to the enormous health and economic costs of air pollution in India. PM2.5 refers to fine particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter. These microscopic particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, increasing the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Ground-level ozone, formed through chemical reactions involving pollutants in the presence of sunlight, is also associated with respiratory complications. India has introduced several measures to address deteriorating air quality, including the National Clean Air Programme, which seeks to reduce particulate pollution in identified cities. However, concerns persist over the effectiveness of existing standards, enforcement mechanisms and the coordination required among central, state and local authorities.

Ramesh's intervention has once again brought the government's environmental and public health policies into the political spotlight, particularly as air pollution continues to affect millions of people across urban and industrial centres. His central argument is that the government must move beyond disputing individual research findings and recognise the accumulated scientific evidence, placing the protection of public health at the heart of India's clean-air strategy.

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