00:00Hello and welcome to this week's Roundtable.
00:05India is facing an emergency.
00:08An air emergency, A-I-R.
00:11Every year, the onset of the winter months
00:14sees a spike in the air quality index
00:17and it's getting worse by the year.
00:19Not just the national capital region in and around Delhi,
00:23but every Indian city seems to be breathing,
00:26worsening air quality.
00:27Mumbai, the commercial capital of the country,
00:31also bathed in smog.
00:34Why and what can be done to ensure your and my right to breathe,
00:39the right to breathe of every Indian citizen,
00:43breathe clean air.
00:45That's what we will discuss on this special Roundtable.
00:48But first, I want to go to all my guests one by one
00:52and I have two very special guests
00:54who are joining me at the very outset on this air emergency debate.
00:59My first guest is Diyah Mirza, actor,
01:02but also the Environment Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations
01:06who also works with the UN on sustainable development goals.
01:10Thanks very much, Diyah, for joining us.
01:13I'm calling it the air emergency debate
01:15because the truth is we have an air emergency.
01:18Just look at the air quality index in the national capital,
01:21in Mumbai, across the country.
01:23Some of the worst, most polluted cities are in India.
01:26We are breathing toxic air.
01:28What's your first thought when you hear of the depressing numbers
01:31that are coming out about just how polluted our cities are?
01:35Rajdeep, as a mother, it's a reality that I'm confronted by every day.
01:44And it's something that is not new
01:46because it's something that we've been acutely aware of
01:49for over a decade now.
01:51And Anumita Roy Chaudhary, who's on this conversation,
01:54will agree with me when I say that
01:57when we first started talking about the importance
01:59to monitor the air quality levels in many cities,
02:04we were dealing with cities unwilling to install air monitoring systems
02:10because they didn't want it to affect tourism and industry.
02:14And so we've come some way since then.
02:17At least now we have the systems to monitor the air,
02:19which is why there is better public awareness and knowledge about it.
02:23Of course, the stark reality is that you can see how polluted the air is.
02:27While I was driving out last night,
02:30this skyscape that Mumbai looks to with such pride
02:34and that sea link that Mumbai looks to with such pride
02:36was invisible behind the blanket of smog.
02:39You couldn't see that there was a city beyond that space,
02:43which is horrifying.
02:46But that is not to acknowledge the fact that,
02:52one, Mumbai and many other cities in the country
02:56deal with poor AQI levels year-round,
03:01other than the monsoon months.
03:03So it's the monsoon months where the sky's turned blue
03:05and everybody, especially parents,
03:07heave a sigh of relief because I know,
03:09we know our children are breathing cleaner air.
03:12But for a large part of the year,
03:15unlike the northern parts of the country,
03:17we deal with AQI levels which are 10 times the permissible limit.
03:26The fact is that, Rajdeep,
03:2880% of the world's most polluted cities are in India.
03:33It is, as you have rightfully called this conversation,
03:37an emergency.
03:38The good news, though,
03:41is that finally I think
03:43there is more public understanding of the issue.
03:47There are more people willing to participate in solutions.
03:50You see young people coming up
03:52with extraordinary innovations every day,
03:54trying to filter, you know,
03:56the pollution out,
03:58whether it's from vehicles or factories
04:00or other emitters.
04:03But we need to do much more
04:08to galvanize support
04:10to ensure that industries
04:12are held more accountable.
04:14So a big part of Mumbai's pollution right now
04:17is construction dust
04:18and has been for the last few years.
04:22Because if I just look at only my ward, Rajdeep,
04:25which is H-ward,
04:26we have over 2,500 buildings under construction.
04:30And these are not new constructions.
04:32So old buildings are being broken, demolished,
04:35and new buildings are coming up in its place.
04:37And every time,
04:39one of us as citizens
04:40goes past one of these buildings
04:42flouting the norms,
04:44which is to ensure that the dust is controlled,
04:47there are proper green fencing done,
04:48there's, you know,
04:49sprinklers being used to contain the dust levels,
04:52and we ignore it.
04:54You know, the fact is,
04:55two points come from what you've said.
04:58One, you're saying there is greater public awareness.
05:00But I must be honest,
05:01I don't see enough people like you
05:03coming out and making this a cause
05:06that can become a national campaign.
05:09Everyone complains that the air is polluted.
05:11But why don't I see a complete movement for this?
05:14We've seen it in Western countries,
05:15green parties emerging,
05:16making environment the centerpiece of their politics.
05:19Here people complain,
05:20but not enough are willing to walk the talk
05:23when it comes to making this a wide movement
05:25and holding governments accountable.
05:31I couldn't agree more with you.
05:33I couldn't agree more with the fact
05:34that many, many, many more of us
05:36need to become aware of how
05:38integral environmental health is to human health,
05:42how this is a matter of human rights,
05:44and how this is a matter of social justice,
05:46and how just as parents or as children of elderly parents,
05:52we can't hope for our children and the health
05:56of our elderly at home to be stable or good.
06:01We can't hope for their peace or their prosperity
06:03if you don't have them growing up
06:05in a healthy environment.
06:06And it shouldn't be a central issue.
06:09It's most unfortunate that it's not.
06:11But I think what happens for the most part
06:14is that those who are informed and aware
06:17are doing what they can.
06:20Most people aren't as aware as they need to be.
06:24And even if they are,
06:25perhaps they don't have the time
06:27and the bandwidth and the will to pursue.
06:31Which brings me to the other point.
06:33As you're right,
06:33there's only so much that citizens can do.
06:36The real focus has to be
06:38what are we going to get our governments to do?
06:40Whether at the center or in the state.
06:42Construction work you mentioned.
06:44A lot of illegal work carries on
06:46and the dust spreads right around the year.
06:48Factories that are emitting noxious fumes
06:51and are clearly the factories
06:56that need to move out of the cities.
06:58It's the government which is supposed to act.
07:01You said the government support air monitors at last.
07:04But that's an incremental change.
07:05Why don't I see governments doing enough
07:08to make air pollution a central issue?
07:10Why do you think
07:11surely the buck must stop with these governments?
07:16Clean air is a fundamental right to life.
07:20It's the right to breathe.
07:22And how can that be something
07:24that we can escape as a guarantee?
07:26Our constitution guarantees us this, right?
07:30It's not even...
07:32It's baffling, Rajdeep,
07:34that environmental protection and health
07:37remains a complete, you know,
07:42underserved priority.
07:45It doesn't even seem like it's a priority
07:47for any government.
07:48Okay, you know, because many believe,
07:52you know, Diyam Mirza,
07:53that there are no votes to be garnered
07:55through clean air.
07:56Let me be honest.
07:57Politicians want votes.
07:58So they will play caste cards,
08:00they will play community cards,
08:01but they won't play the air card.
08:03So at the end of the day,
08:05like with the green parties in the West,
08:07we need to find ways in making air quality
08:11a central political issue,
08:14a fundamental right to breathe.
08:16If there was one advice, therefore,
08:17that you would give as a UN ambassador
08:19to government and citizens on air quality,
08:22what would it be?
08:23What's that one quality?
08:24What do we all need to do?
08:28It would be to prioritize
08:30the environmental health over everything else.
08:32Because if we don't have access to clean air,
08:36what will you do with gadi and kapda and makara?
08:41So the entire approach to
08:47and understanding of progress
08:49needs to be re-evaluated.
08:52And what would you tell your fellow celebrities?
08:55Why can't I see them campaigning
08:57across the country saying,
08:59we want our right to breathe.
09:01All of you stand in front of India gate.
09:03Maybe things will change.
09:06I agree with you.
09:08I mean, my hope has always been
09:10that more of us would come forward
09:12to participate in what truly matters.
09:14But I have to admit, Rajdeep,
09:17that I've been,
09:18as somebody who's been consistently at it
09:20for over two decades,
09:21it can be deeply,
09:25I mean, it can be disorienting,
09:28to say the least.
09:30And it's not easy.
09:31And it requires a lot of will
09:33and gumption to be able
09:34to keep asking the same questions.
09:36As you know,
09:38the climate is not one that is permissive
09:41of demanding any form of accountability.
09:45And I know most people are afraid
09:47to ask tough questions.
09:49But I think as, you know,
09:52citizens of our country,
09:53especially as parents,
09:54and so many of my colleagues now
09:56are young parents
09:57who have just had children,
09:58who are so young
09:59and are going to school.
10:00And I'm sure many of them
10:01are grappling with the harsh reality
10:03of breathing polluted air.
10:05I have a son who's developed asthma.
10:07My mother has COPD.
10:09These are realities
10:10that practically every home
10:11is dealing with.
10:12So, yes,
10:13we all need to do much more.
10:15And yes,
10:16we all need to mobilize efforts
10:18to improve accountability,
10:21not just from governments,
10:22but even of ourselves.
10:23Can we manage our waste better?
10:26Can we drive electric?
10:27Can we make sure
10:29that we are, you know,
10:31filing complaints
10:32when we see building construction,
10:35flouting norms and rules?
10:39There are so many things
10:41that citizens
10:41that we can participate in improving
10:44along with using our voices
10:45to demand change.
10:47I'm going to leave it there, Diyamirza.
10:49Good to have a celebrity
10:51who's walking the talk
10:52when it comes to the environment.
10:54Thanks very much for joining me.
Comments