Scores of residents gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Wednesday to demand clean air as the national capital continued to experience extended periods of “very poor” air quality.
Students from Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Millia Islamia joined the demonstration, along with members of the Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India. Protesters held placards carrying messages such as “Delhi residents deserve an Air Quality Index below 50,” “Clean air is a fundamental right,” and “All have the right to breathe.” Several local singers performed to encourage the assembled crowd.
Neha, aged twenty-six, one of the protesters, alleged that despite the Bharatiya Janata Party being in power at the Centre and in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, authorities had failed to control air pollution. She said that earlier there used to be a blame game, but now there were no explanations. She also referred to reports of manipulated Air Quality Index data and said that even with such claims, pollution levels remained in the “very poor” category. “Who knows what the real Air Quality Index is? We will continue protesting unless major steps are taken. This is a matter of our fundamental right,” she said.
Delhi’s air quality has largely stayed in the “very poor” to “severe” range since Diwali. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, an Air Quality Index between 301 and 400 is considered “very poor,” and 401 to 500 is “severe.”
The ongoing pollution emergency has drawn attention from both Parliament and the Supreme Court. On Monday, the apex court said air pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region could not be treated as a customary seasonal issue. The court directed that the matter be listed twice every month to monitor short-term and long-term solutions.
Chief Justice Surya Kant, sitting with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, also questioned the long-held belief that stubble burning is the primary cause of Delhi’s toxic air. The judges noted that skies remained clear during the COVID-19 period even though stubble burning continued.
In Parliament, YSR Congress Party Member of Parliament Ayodhya Rami Reddy Alla described Delhi’s pollution levels as a public health emergency. Citing data, he said nearly one in seven residents faced the risk of premature death due to air pollution, and more than seventeen thousand deaths last year were linked directly to toxic air. Drawing a parallel with Visakhapatnam, where PM10 levels have risen more than thirty-two per cent in seven years, he criticised poor utilisation of funds under the National Clean Air Programme.
He said unchecked air pollution costs India more than three per cent of its Gross Domestic Product every year and urged stronger political will, accurate data, greater public awareness and real-time governance to address the crisis.