Date | Oct 29, 2017:

Senior professor of environmental sciences at IIT(ISM)-Dhanbad Gurdeep Singh on issues plaguing Jharkhand and the way forward

TT: Did the cracker sale ban in Delhi work?

GS: A ban ends up being symbolic unless individuals, communities and governments unite. Alternatives have to be readied first. In Delhi, even if sale was banned, one could go out, buy and burst crackers

What should be the approach?

Awareness and education are the only ways, but such efforts should be continuous, engaging, entertaining and not preachy

How can that be done?

In Delhi, for instance, NGOs, governments could have thought of innovative ideas to engage people by, say, creating green zones where soundless crackers could be lit. Or, announcing prizes for areas where smoke and noise were within permissible limits
Noise levels in Jharkhand cities exceeded permissible limits this Diwali.
That’s because we have not done enough to educate people
What is the primary environmental challenge facing Jharkhand?

Mining industry followed by vehicular emissions, which contributes between 80-90 per cent of the problem globally. In Jharkhand, mining is being done for centuries and no one paid attention to best practices. Now, even if mining is stopped, its ill effects will continue to haunt us for years

How to tackle vehicular pollution?

By sustainable solutions and rapid transport systems that can lead to lesser number of vehicles

Is IIT(ISM) working on solutions?

Under the Paris climate deal, to which India is a signatory, we will soon start research on green and clean fuels toreduce dependence on fossil fuels. Sustainable transport is also a priority area
We have several environmental laws, but implementation is lax.
Implementation will be successful only when monitoring is proper. We don’t have it
How do we start?

Simple, everything should be in the public domain so that people realise what’s happening. That could lead to self-regulation

Like?

For example, set up online ambient air quality displays everywhere for people to see. Once people see, they will start questioning. The pressure will be on the authorities to take corrective measures.

As told to A.S.R.P. Mukesh

(Source: https://www.telegraphindia.com/)