Congress slams govt's 'no data to establish correlation of death due to air pollution' reply in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday slammed as a "shocking lie" the government's assertion in the Rajya Sabha that there is no conclusive data available in the country to establish a direct correlation of death or disease exclusively due to air pollution.

The opposition party was reacting to Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel's reply in the Upper House of Parliament.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Today in the Rajya Sabha, the Union Minister of State responded to a question about the public health impact of air pollution by claiming that '[T]here are no conclusive data available in the country to establish direct correlation of death/disease exclusively due to air pollution'. This is a shocking lie." "Earlier this month, a study published in the prestigious Lancet journal revealed that 7.2% of all deaths in India are associated with air pollution -- about 34,000 deaths each year in just 10 cities," he said.

The policy chaos in the government and the ineffective National Clean Air Program are directly responsible for these tens of thousands of deaths, the former environment minister added.

"The self-anointed non-biological PM's habit of lying has caught on in his Government," Ramesh said.

Patel, in a written reply in the House, said air pollution is one of the triggering factors for respiratory ailments and associated diseases.

Health effects of air pollution are synergistic manifestations of factors which include food habits, occupational habits, socio-economic status, medical history, immunity and heredity among other aspects, she said.

Patel said the government of India has taken several steps to address air pollution issues.

Elaborating further, Patel said the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) aims to safeguard the health of women and children by providing them with clean LPG.

Swachh Hawa (clean air) is an integral component of Swachh Bharat, she added.