Page 21 - Breathing Cleaner Air - Ten Scalable Solutions for Indian Cities
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17 Clean Air Mission for India - Ten Solutions
based monitoring systems. Wall-to-wall paving Finally, we would like to point out the nexus and synergy
(with provision of rainwater percolation) should be between air pollution mitigation measures and climate
carried out to the extent possible to reduce kerbside mitigation measures. For instance, India’s ambitious
dust. Maintenance of roads should be ensured with target of 100GW power generation through solar by 2022
the use of mobile applications to spot and inform can drastically reduce its emissions of PM2.5, NOx, and SO2
irregularities. Delhi is already trying the vacuum from the power sector. Similarly, improving the energy
cleaning devices for road cleaning; these devices efficiency of room air conditioning units can sufficiently
should be pilot tested in few other cities before reduce energy demand to avoid the need for 60–140
scaling them up widely in all major dust prone cities medium sized peak power plants in India by 2030 (Shah
in India. Unpaved roads in the entire NCR should be et al., 2015a). Lastly, reducing fugitive methane emissions
paved, and, if not possible, they should be covered from landfills, farm manure, and gas pipe leaks will reduce
with gravel and maintained that way. the ozone levels since methane is an ozone precursor. As
both methane and ozone are potent greenhouse gases,
Scientific management of municipal solid waste is reductions in fugitive methane emissions would also
required to control refuse burning and also to avoid mitigate climate change.
methane emissions from landfills. A complete ban
should be enforced on refuse burning with strict References
penalties. There is also a need for proper scientific
treatment of biodegradable municipal waste and Byun, D.W., Ching, J.K.S. (Eds.), 1999, Science Algorithms
promotion of reusing and recycling materials. of the EPA Models-3 Community Multi-scale Air Quality
These programmes can be built under the ‘Swachh (CMAQ) Modeling System. NERL, Research Triangle Park.
Bharat Abhiyan’. Second-hand markets need to be NC EPA/600/R-99/030.
developed and formalized for goods which can be
reused for incentivizing people participation. Chatani, S., Amann, M., Goel, A., Hao, J., Klimont, Z., Kumar,
A., Mishra, A., Sharma, S., Wang, S.X., Wang, Y.X., Zhao, B.,
Methane is a key precursor for ozone formation and 2014, Photochemical roles of rapid economic growth and
also a potent greenhouse gas (GHG). It is essential potential abatement strategies on tropospheric ozone
to control emissions by capturing methane from over south and east Asia in 2030. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 14,
municipal waste landfills, and sewage treatment 9259e9277.
facilities. TERI has demonstrated a pilot-scale methane
recovery plant at the Okhla landfill site in Delhi. The CPCB, 2014, National ambient air quality status & trends –
recovered methane can be used as an energy source. 2012, Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi.
All possible landfill sites in Delhi should be tapped
for methane recovery. Livestock is another important EEA, 2016, Emission trends for the main air pollutants, PM,
source of methane in India and should be controlled HMs and POPs, URL: http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-
through farm-scale anaerobic digestion of manure maps/daviz/emission-trends-for-the-main#tab-, European
from cattle and pigs. Environment Agency.
Gargava P., Rajagopalan V., 2015, Source
prioritization for urban particulate emission control
in India based on an inventory of PM10 and its
carbonaceous fraction in six cities, Environmental
Development, 16,44–53.
Guttikunda S., Jawahar P., 2014, Atmospheric emissions
and pollution from the coal-fired thermal power plants in
India, Article in Atmospheric Environment 92:449–460 ·
August 2014 DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2014.04.057.
IEA, 2016, Energy and Air Pollution 2016 – World Energy
Outlook, International Energy Agency, Paris.
based monitoring systems. Wall-to-wall paving Finally, we would like to point out the nexus and synergy
(with provision of rainwater percolation) should be between air pollution mitigation measures and climate
carried out to the extent possible to reduce kerbside mitigation measures. For instance, India’s ambitious
dust. Maintenance of roads should be ensured with target of 100GW power generation through solar by 2022
the use of mobile applications to spot and inform can drastically reduce its emissions of PM2.5, NOx, and SO2
irregularities. Delhi is already trying the vacuum from the power sector. Similarly, improving the energy
cleaning devices for road cleaning; these devices efficiency of room air conditioning units can sufficiently
should be pilot tested in few other cities before reduce energy demand to avoid the need for 60–140
scaling them up widely in all major dust prone cities medium sized peak power plants in India by 2030 (Shah
in India. Unpaved roads in the entire NCR should be et al., 2015a). Lastly, reducing fugitive methane emissions
paved, and, if not possible, they should be covered from landfills, farm manure, and gas pipe leaks will reduce
with gravel and maintained that way. the ozone levels since methane is an ozone precursor. As
both methane and ozone are potent greenhouse gases,
Scientific management of municipal solid waste is reductions in fugitive methane emissions would also
required to control refuse burning and also to avoid mitigate climate change.
methane emissions from landfills. A complete ban
should be enforced on refuse burning with strict References
penalties. There is also a need for proper scientific
treatment of biodegradable municipal waste and Byun, D.W., Ching, J.K.S. (Eds.), 1999, Science Algorithms
promotion of reusing and recycling materials. of the EPA Models-3 Community Multi-scale Air Quality
These programmes can be built under the ‘Swachh (CMAQ) Modeling System. NERL, Research Triangle Park.
Bharat Abhiyan’. Second-hand markets need to be NC EPA/600/R-99/030.
developed and formalized for goods which can be
reused for incentivizing people participation. Chatani, S., Amann, M., Goel, A., Hao, J., Klimont, Z., Kumar,
A., Mishra, A., Sharma, S., Wang, S.X., Wang, Y.X., Zhao, B.,
Methane is a key precursor for ozone formation and 2014, Photochemical roles of rapid economic growth and
also a potent greenhouse gas (GHG). It is essential potential abatement strategies on tropospheric ozone
to control emissions by capturing methane from over south and east Asia in 2030. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 14,
municipal waste landfills, and sewage treatment 9259e9277.
facilities. TERI has demonstrated a pilot-scale methane
recovery plant at the Okhla landfill site in Delhi. The CPCB, 2014, National ambient air quality status & trends –
recovered methane can be used as an energy source. 2012, Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi.
All possible landfill sites in Delhi should be tapped
for methane recovery. Livestock is another important EEA, 2016, Emission trends for the main air pollutants, PM,
source of methane in India and should be controlled HMs and POPs, URL: http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-
through farm-scale anaerobic digestion of manure maps/daviz/emission-trends-for-the-main#tab-, European
from cattle and pigs. Environment Agency.
Gargava P., Rajagopalan V., 2015, Source
prioritization for urban particulate emission control
in India based on an inventory of PM10 and its
carbonaceous fraction in six cities, Environmental
Development, 16,44–53.
Guttikunda S., Jawahar P., 2014, Atmospheric emissions
and pollution from the coal-fired thermal power plants in
India, Article in Atmospheric Environment 92:449–460 ·
August 2014 DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2014.04.057.
IEA, 2016, Energy and Air Pollution 2016 – World Energy
Outlook, International Energy Agency, Paris.
