NEW DELHI: Parliamentarians’ Group for Clean Air (PGCA), a consortium of 35 MPs across party lines, launched a compendium on March 26 to empower their peers to monitor factors impacting levels of air pollution in their constituencies and seek answers for better implementation of government policies. Taking note of the poor air quality in various parts of the country and its impact on human health, the PGCA held a two-day ‘Clean Air workshop’ with the MPs in Gururgram on March 25-26.
The group deliberated on a charter of demands that will be presented to the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav and several state governments once finalised. “The alarming levels of air pollution have been a growing concern for our country, and it’s time we address it collectively,” said PGCA convener and Congress Lok Sabha MP from Assam Gaurav Gogoi.
Other MPs in the group include Pradyut Bordoloi, Hasnain Masoodi, Shyam Singh Yadav, Dr. Kalanidhi Veeraswamy, Sujeet Kumar, Jagannath Sarkar, Dr Mahua Maji and Indra Hang Subba. The charter framed by the MPs says that there should be an integration of air quality with public health in policy matters and pushes for the installation of infrastructure in rural and urban areas alike to capture even finer pollutants.
The charter says that governments need to encapsulate an airshed approach at the municipal or citylevel. It has also recommended international cooperation to reduce the effects of trans-boundary effects of air pollution.
The MPs have further recommended partnerships of industries with the Government and other stakeholders to adopt clean air initiatives.
