Question

Who do you think is more responsible for pollution, individual people or the government? Explain.

Answer 1

Recently, 13 people in Tuticorin died when the police fired on the crowd who had been protesting against Vedanta’s Sterlite copper unit for its adverse impact on the environment. The protest had been going on for very long but it got the national and international attention only after it turned deadly. NDA government had passed some orders in December 2014 which favoured companies like Vedanta, which later in 2016 was struck down by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Before, the NDA came to power; Vedanta was even supported by the UPA government in 2009 when it gave clearance to Vedanta without any public hearing.

In March 2016, The World Culture Festival was organised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to celebrate 35 years’ service of his Art of Living foundation. The Indian army was made to build bridges across the river by the Union government. It was attended by many prominent leaders including Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Arvind Kejriwal besides the Environmental activists like Dr Vandana Shiva. The event was organized on the floodplains of the Yamuna in the outskirts of Delhi. An expert committee appointed by the NGT reported that the event destroyed the floodplains and caused so severe a damage that it would cost over Rs 42.02 crore and may take up to ten years for the rehabilitation of the floodplains.

When it comes to budget allocation and its usage, the government doesn’t seem to put the fragile environment as a priority. In the fiscal year 2018-19, the budget of Rs. 2,675.42 crore was allocated to the environment ministry which, although saw a slight increase from the previous year, was far less than 2012-2013, the year in which a budget of Rs 3082.41 crore was allocated. Between 2014 and 2017, mere Rs 56.8 crore was allocated for Pollution abetment. Namami Gange, a project of the Central government, was launched in 2014 to clean the Ganga with an estimated budget of Rs 20,000 crore to be spent between 2015 and 2020. The project covers the activities such as sewerage treatment, river surface cleaning, industrial effluent monitoring, afforestation, and making Ganga gram villages open defecation free among others. Most of the money allocated till date are for sewerage treatment plants in which 2769.38 million litre waste per day was targeted to be processed around. According to the data retrieved, only 299.13 million litres waste has been processed per day. The success of other activities too remains a distant dream.

When it comes to the solid waste, India produces over 62 mn tonnes of solid waste annually, collects 43 mn tonnes and treats only 12 mn tonnes is treated. Each day, around 25,940 tonnes of Plastic waste is also generated. It is estimated that almost 94 per cent of the plastic is recyclable, but the recycling sector is unable to cope with the high volume. Most of the States and Union Territories already have laws which seek to regulate the plastic production but they laws yet remain to be enforced properly. Experts fear that government is complicit in the crime. Early this year, it has made amends in a 2016 law which had stiffened the production of plastic. The law no longer requires the plastic vendors to register and pay the annual fee to urban local bodies and at the same time also removes the complete ban on the non-recyclable multilayered plastic which, was although supposed to be phased out by March this year, remains in use. In terms of medical waste, India currently produces 550.9 tons of medical waste per day which is likely to increase up to 775.5 tons per day by 2022.

To make the matters worse, India also acts as a dumping yard for “the first world” countries. According to reports, a lot of waste from developed countries including metals, textiles and tires end up in India. Alang shipyards in Gujarat salvage around half of all the ships in the world meant for recycling. Various ports in India regularly receives illegal wastes from United States, Europe and the Middle East most of which go unchecked by the custom. Apart from local e-waste generation (1.95 million tonnes), India also imports a large number of e-wastes from United States (42%), China (30%), Europe (18%), and other countries (10%).

We must not forget continuing deforestations in the mining areas, destruction of the environment at the hand of crony capitalists and most of all the Government’s neglect to the real issues. in the past one year, about 146 per cent increase in the non-forest activities on the forest land has been recorded in Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha, together accounting for 54 per cent.

Answer 2

Answer:

As people battle an increasingly toxic atmosphere, these products promise to combat harmful particles associated with pollution in major cities. These products work by cleansing the skin from nanoparticles that are absorbed from the air or by creating a protective barrier that acts as a shield against pollutants.

Milk-based formulas are the treatment of choice. At the beginning of dietary treatment, patients should be fed ad libitum. After 1 week, intake rates should approach 175 kcal/kg and 4 g/kg of protein for children and 60 kcal/kg and 2 g/kg of protein for adults. A daily multivitamin should also be addedantipollution(Noun) Any way, shape, or form which directly or indirectly helps the environment or reduces pollution. antipollution(Adjective) Of, pertaining to, or having the characteristics of that which helps the environment or reduces pollution.