As Delhi Chokes, MPs Scrap Air Crisis Debate Over Bad 'Atmosphere': Sources

India's lawmakers were supposed to discuss the horrid blanket of toxic air smothering the national capital region sometime during Parliament's winter session, which wrapped up Friday.

Discussions were held (and protests staged) over electoral reforms and the G RAM G bill that replaces the MNREGA scheme enacted in 2005 by the Congress-led UPA government.

Discussions were held (and protests staged) over 'Vande Mataram', India's national song, complete with jabs about the country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, whose 17-year executive legacy is the ruling BJP's preferred punching bag.

But the MPs couldn't find a few hours between December 1 (when the session began) and today to shout at each other over Delhi's air quality, an annual emergency responsible for an estimated 17,200 lives in the city in 2023, a staggering 15 per cent of all recorded deaths.

NDTV Special | 1 In 7 Deaths In Delhi In 2023 Linked To Air Pollution, Finds Study

Sources told NDTV all parties backtracked on holding talks on the Delhi air pollution crisis, agreeing (at least in this there was unison) the "atmosphere in the House was not congenial". Separately a second set of sources claimed the government had agreed to the discussion if the opposition allowed the G RAM G bill to pass peacefully, which, if true, would be a travesty.

The opposition did no such thing; there was utter chaos in both Houses when the G RAM G bill was being 'discussed', with opposition MPs forcing their way into the Wells shouting slogans and waving placards.

As a result, the second set of sources said, any 'agreement' on the Delhi AQI debate was scrapped.

Meanwhile, at around 1 pm the recorded AQI for Delhi was 331, well into the 'hazardous' category. Specifically, the PM2.5 level was 228 micrograms per cubic metre. For context, the World Health Organisation recommends a 24-hour average PM2.5 reading not exceeding 15 micrograms per cubic metre. The annual average is just five micrograms.

On Thursday the highest recorded reading in the city was a deadly 441. Last week it was worse. On Sunday Delhi recorded an AQI of 461 – the second worst December air quality day on record. The worst was 469 on December 21, 2017.

Also last week Congress MP Rahul Gandhi pushed for a 'structured' debate on the crisis, rightly calling it a public health emergency. Several other Congress leaders made similar demands.

The treasury bench had indicated its willingness to participate in what Gandhi, again correctly, said was not an ideological issue dividing the government and the opposition. But now any formal discussion on this subject must wait till 2026 and Parliament's budget session, when no doubt there will be more 'urgent' issues requiring MPs to shout at each other.

The government has, however, insisted there is no conclusive data linking high AQI levels and lung diseases, indicating the nearly 20,000 people who died after inhaling particulate matter died from reasons other than the polluting substances.

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