Air pollution has afflicted the nation for a long time now, and the government is taking appropriate measures in order to deal with the rising threat. The most recent step in this direction being the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) notice to New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, Allahabad, Hyderabad, and Agra for the sudden increase in their respective air pollution levels, thanks to the growing number of private vehicles.
This measure comes after Sanjay Kulshrestha - a paediatric surgeon based in New Delhi - wrote to the NGT regarding how the degrading quality of air is detrimental to the well-being of not only newborn babies and children, but also foetuses.
Apart from issuing notices to the aforementioned cities, the tribunal is also seeking suggestions to deal with the concerning rise in the number of multiple vehicles, and also for dealing with vehicles that add fuel to the fire of pollution.
The doctor further added that the construction of infrastructure will not help the cause of the vehement increase in number of vehicles or the destruction of air quality. Instead, he suggested fixing not only the number of cars a family can own, but also the age-limit for every car. He further added that the number of luxury cars also needs to be controlled, since they are not fuel-efficient.
