Congress seeks review of air quality norms amid rising pollution

The Congress on Sunday sounded a note of alarm over the country’s worsening air quality, demanding an urgent overhaul of India’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), 2009, and calling for far more rigorous monitoring and enforcement of pollution norms across the country.

Launching a sharp attack, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, remarking that “PM 56-inch has been exposed, PM 2.5 is for real”. The comment, couched in his characteristic mix of sarcasm and urgency, underscored the party’s argument that the real crisis confronting India today is not political rhetoric but the deadly spread of microscopic air pollutants.

In a detailed statement posted on social media, Ramesh warned that PM2.5 — fine particulate matter measuring less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter and recorded in micrograms per cubic metre of air — has emerged as the epicentre of a severe environmental and public health emergency gripping the country. These particles, small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream, are increasingly being linked to rising mortality and chronic illness.

To underline the scale of the crisis, the former environment minister cited findings published in The Lancet Planetary Health in December 2024. The study, which analysed data from 655 districts between 2009 and 2019, concluded that every 10 microgram per cubic metre rise in PM2.5 concentration is associated with an 8.6 per cent increase in mortality.

Further reinforcing the concern, the Lancet Countdown report for 2025 estimated that exposure to PM2.5 leads to approximately 17.2 lakh deaths annually in India, representing a staggering 38 per cent increase since 2010, Ramesh noted.

Yet, according to him, the Union government has repeatedly told Parliament — in 2024, 2025 and again in 2026 — that deaths attributable to air pollution “cannot be conclusively established”. Ramesh described this stance as deeply troubling, pointing out that even the government’s own research body, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has endorsed the Lancet findings. ICMR estimates attribute 12.4 lakh deaths in 2017 alone to air pollution, accounting for roughly 12.5 per cent of all deaths that year.

Adding fresh evidence to the debate, Ramesh referred to a recent analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), which examined data from continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations run by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The study assessed air pollution levels in 238 cities during the period from 1 October 2025, to February 2026, and its conclusions, Ramesh said, were deeply disturbing.

According to the analysis, not a single one of the 238 cities met the safe PM2.5 limits prescribed by the World Health Organisation, whose updated guidelines were issued in September 2021. Even by India’s own standards—set under the NAAQS in November 2009—204 cities recorded PM2.5 levels above permissible limits.

Ramesh highlighted that India’s current annual PM2.5 standard is now eight times weaker than the WHO guideline, raising questions about the adequacy of the country’s regulatory framework in addressing the pollution crisis.

The Congress leader also criticised the government’s flagship National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), launched in 2019 to combat air pollution in major urban centres. According to him, the programme has made only marginal progress in reducing PM2.5 concentrations. Among the 96 cities covered under the NCAP, just 12 managed to comply with the safe levels prescribed by the 2009 standards, he pointed out.

Ramesh further noted that while more than Rs 13,400 crore has been released under the NCAP and grants from the Fifteenth Finance Commission since the programme’s inception, 68 per cent of the funds have been spent on road dust management. Moreover, he argued, the programme primarily benchmarks progress against PM10, a coarser and comparatively less lethal pollutant, rather than focusing squarely on PM2.5.

While the worst air quality levels continue to plague cities in the National Capital Region — including Delhi and adjoining areas of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh — Ramesh said a worrying number of polluted cities are also located in Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh.

The problem, he added, is compounded by gaps in monitoring infrastructure. In 50 cities, continuous air quality data availability is below 80 per cent, while some monitoring stations recorded no data for entire days, raising concerns about the reliability and completeness of pollution tracking.

Against this backdrop, Ramesh called for an urgent and comprehensive revision of India’s air quality standards, arguing that the NAAQS framed in 2009 are no longer adequate in the face of today’s environmental realities.

“The National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 2009 need urgent review and upgradation. They must also be enforced and monitored far more effectively across the country,” he asserted, adding that the NCAP must be recalibrated with a laser-like focus on reducing PM2.5 pollution if India is to avert a deepening public health catastrophe.

With PTI inputs