Article 1: Union Budget 2026–27 and Air Pollution
Why in News: Experts have criticised the Union Budget 2026–27 for failing to prioritise air pollution control, despite severe air quality crises in Delhi-NCR and other Indian cities.
Key Details
- The Budget speech did not explicitly mention air pollution or clean air as a policy priority.
- Allocations for coal, nuclear energy, and carbon capture technologies have increased.
- Funding for pollution control institutions like CPCB and CAQM remains modest.
- Experts highlight growing divergence between economic growth policies and environmental protection.
Air Pollution Crisis in India: A Public Health Emergency
- Scale of the problem: India records nearly 2.1 million premature deaths annually due to air pollution, making it one of the world’s most serious environmental health crises.
- Economic cost: Studies estimate that air pollution causes a loss of 8–10% of India’s GDP, due to healthcare costs, productivity loss, and reduced life expectancy.
- Urban vulnerability: Cities like Delhi-NCR consistently rank among the most polluted globally, especially during winter months due to industrial emissions, transport, construction dust, and biomass burning.
- Constitutional dimension: Clean air is integral to Article 21 (Right to Life), as affirmed by Supreme Court judgments linking environmental quality to fundamental rights.
Budgetary Priorities in Union Budget 2026–27
- Absence of explicit focus: Air pollution and environmental protection did not find direct mention in the Finance Minister’s Budget speech, reflecting limited political salience.
- Increased fossil fuel emphasis: Allocation to the Coal Ministry has risen, reversing earlier declining trends, raising concerns over long-term sustainability.
- Carbon Capture push: Continued support for Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) has been criticised as enabling prolonged coal and oil usage.
- Environment as expenditure, not investment: Environmental protection appears treated as a secondary concern rather than essential “survival infrastructure”.
Carbon Capture vs Clean Air Goals
- Limited scope of CCUS: CCUS focuses only on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, while ignoring toxic co-pollutants like PM2.5, SO₂, and NOx, which directly harm health.
- Risk of fossil fuel lock-in: CCUS may allow continued coal and oil dependence, delaying the transition to renewable energy systems.
- Mismatch with Indian realities: In India, coal combustion remains the largest contributor to air pollution, making CCUS insufficient as a clean air strategy.
- Equity concerns: Pollution impacts disproportionately affect urban poor and informal workers, raising environmental justice issues.
Inadequate Institutional Funding for Pollution Control
- Low CPCB allocation: The Central Pollution Control Board received only about ₹123 crore, largely spent on salaries and routine expenditure.
- Marginal increase in clean air funding: Total air pollution control allocations increased modestly from ₹850 crore to around ₹1,091 crore, insufficient for large-scale impact.
- Weak regulatory capacity: Underfunded regulators struggle with monitoring, enforcement, and data-driven policymaking.
- Centre-State coordination gap: Pollution control requires strong fiscal and administrative support to State Pollution Control Boards, which remains inadequate.
Industrial Growth Without Environmental Safeguards
- Industrial contribution to pollution: Industry accounts for 21–35% of India’s air pollution, according to emissions inventories.
- Growth-first approach: The Budget strongly supports MSME expansion and industrial self-reliance, but without binding clean production conditions.
- Missing green conditionalities: Financial incentives are not explicitly linked to emission reduction, energy efficiency, or clean technology adoption.
- Urban environmental cuts: Reductions in urban environmental programmes may increase cities’ vulnerability to pollution and climate risks.
Policy Gap Between Economy and Environment
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): While the Budget rhetorically aligns with SDGs, actual allocations show a widening gap between economic and environmental policies.
- Short-term growth bias: Emphasis on immediate economic expansion risks undermining long-term sustainability and public health outcomes.
- Global commitments: India’s climate pledges under the Paris Agreement require integrated air quality and climate strategies.
- Governance challenge: Environmental protection remains fragmented across ministries, weakening coordinated action.
Conclusion
Addressing air pollution requires treating the environment as core national infrastructure, not a peripheral concern. Future budgets must prioritise clean energy transitions, adequately fund pollution control institutions, integrate environmental safeguards into industrial growth, and align economic policy with constitutional and global sustainability commitments. Clean air is not a luxury—it is essential for public health, economic resilience, and democratic well-being.
EXPECTED QUESTIONS FOR UPSC CSE
Prelims MCQ
Q. Which of the following institutions is primarily responsible for monitoring air pollution at the national level in India?
(a) NITI Aayog
(b) Central Pollution Control Board
(c) Ministry of Power
(d) National Disaster Management Authority
Answer: (b)