Congress leader Manish Tewari on Tuesday suggested creating a statutory committee of Parliament that looks into the issues related to air pollution and climate change and said that its work should be placed before the two Houses in every session.
Participating in a debate on pollution and climate change in the Lok Sabha, Tewari also said that the government has started National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) but the allocation of Rs 300 crore in this fiscal was inadequate.
He said that stubble burning was blamed for pollution in Delhi but it was a contributing factor and has economic dimensions related to small farmers.
"The government needs to work on this and provide incentives to stop stubble burning," he said.
He also stated that the issue of pollution crops up every year in Delhi but the actions of the government were not effective.
"Why do people need to knock the doors of the Supreme Court every year over this issue? It is a matter of grave concern," he said.
Tewari emphasised that several Indian cities were facing the problem of pollution and referred to the work done by China to reduce pollution in its major cities.
"It is important that today this House gives a message that it is sensitive and serious about this issue. It is not only about air pollution; our rivers are also polluted today," Tewari said.
Citing the example of Estimates Committee, Tewari said there should be "statutory committee that looks at pollution and climate change-related issues".
BJD member Pinaki Misra said that pollution has costs and economic output can go down by two per cent.
He said the government should work to tackle it with single-minded dedication.
He also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should lead the campaign against pollution the way he is leading the campaign against single-use plastic and for cleanliness.
Misra said that he had attended an event at the German embassy in Delhi during a visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to India earlier this month and they were keen that their leader moves away from pollution in the city at the earliest.
He said China had taken extraordinary steps to tackle pollution and had even banned winter heating in homes.
He also said that alternate crops should be produced in states where stubble burning takes place and the government should provide support.
After days of 'severe' and 'very poor' air quality, Delhi and its nearby areas witnessed a change with AQI improving to the 'poor' category on Tuesday.
According to SAFAR, this relief from toxic air is temporary as the wind speed is going to slow down from November 20. Due to this, the air quality is likely to plunge to the 'severe' category on Thursday (November 21).
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