Should Delhi Even Remain the Indian Capital? Shashi Tharoor on the Air Crisis

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor questions whether Delhi should remain India’s capital given the shockingly poor air quality in the city. Tharoor’s comments coincide with Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) falling into the “severe-plus” range, with pollution levels skyrocketing above 60 times the World Health Organisation advised daily maximum.

Crisis Severity

For days, Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) have been covered in a thick layer of smog, which has caused officials to mandate rigorous pollution control policies and change educational settings to online learning. Delhi’s AQI has almost reached the 500-mark, suggesting dangerously poor air quality that seriously compromises health.

Delhi is officially the most polluted city in the world, 4x Hazardous levels and nearly five times as bad as the second most polluted city, Dhaka. It is unconscionable that our government has been witnessing this nightmare for years and does nothing about it. I have run an Air… pic.twitter.com/sLZhfeo722

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 18, 2024

Tharoor’s Criticism

Shashi Tharoor has been outspoken against the government’s neglect on Delhi’s increasing air quality. With pollution levels four times higher above harmful levels and over five times worse than Dhaka, the second most polluted city, Delhi is formally the most polluted city in the world. Tharoor attacked the administration for seeing years of this “nightmare” without acting swiftly to solve it.

Delhi’s Status: The Question

Tharoor asked in a post on X whether Delhi should remain the national capital considering its hardly livable circumstances during the rest of the year and in November through January. He noted that the city’s air quality issue makes it practically uninhabitable in the winter, which calls questions about its fit as the capital.

Historical Efforts and Dissatisfaction

Since 2015, Tharoor noted his efforts in organising an Air Quality Round Table including stakeholders and experts; he dropped these last year because of insufficient progress. He voiced annoyance at the government’s inability to put sensible ideas into action despite years of worsening conditions.

More General Effects

Given Delhi’s generally among the worst cities in the world’s winter air quality, pollution levels in the city have caused general alarm. As air quality entered the “severe-plus” category, the Supreme Court has strongly attacked the Delhi government and the Centre’s Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for their slow implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

In conclusion

Shashi Tharoor’s comments highlight how urgently thorough and strong policies are needed to solve Delhi’s air quality crisis. The issue of whether Delhi should remain the Indian capital among such high pollution levels reminds us sharply of the larger environmental problems confronting the city and the country.