Govt denying information in Parliament on deaths due to air pollution: Congress' Randeep Surjewala

New Delhi: Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala on Friday accused the government of deliberately denying information in Parliament about deaths due to air pollution in the country.

In a post on X, he said the government, while answering his question in Parliament, said there was no death due to air pollution, even though the Health Ministry's advisory issued to states some time ago stated that 1.7 million Indians die from air pollution every year.

Posting photos of the government's reply to his question in the Rajya Sabha on deaths due to air pollution as well as that of the health ministry's advisory, Surjewala said, "Poison in the air, fear in every breath, hospitals overflowing, cities counting the dead. The government says: No deaths here. This isn't truth, it's the illusion of power."

"Now hear the truth. In Parliament, the Modi government claims — 'No deaths recorded from air pollution'. But the government's own Health Ministry advisory, backed by ICMR data, states that every year, 1.7 million Indians die from air pollution. So what's the real truth? "Understand the government's trick: Air pollution isn't even mentioned on death certificates. What's written instead — heart attack, stroke, asthma, lung disease. But the poison is still that same air."

That's why this very government warns the states to be prepared for the rising death toll; set up emergency arrangements in hospitals, the Congress leader said in his post in Hindi, adding the poor are the most at risk.

Surjewala asked when the advisory acknowledges the deaths, why is there a denial in Parliament? "This isn't a lack of data, nor a shortage of information; this is deliberate denial. The country needs clean air, honest data, and an accountable government. Not the smoke of empty words," the Congress leader said.

Replying to the question by Surjewala in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh has said, "There is no conclusive data available to establish a direct correlation of death exclusively by air pollution."

"Health effects of air pollution are a synergistic manifestation of factors which include food habits, occupational habits, socio-economic status, medical history, immunity and heredity etc of the individuals," the minister also said in his reply.

Surjewala also quoted a 2023 health advisory issued by the Health Ministry, saying, "Air pollution, considered as the single largest environmental health threat globally, is known to have an association with health impacts. A recent ICMR study reported on disease burden, deaths etc attributed to air pollution among the Indians showed - 1.7 million deaths (18 per cent of total deaths) in India (2019) were attributable to air pollution."

Air pollution has been a major issue in the national capital in the last few days, with AQI crossing the 500 mark and the government imposing GRAP IV restrictions in Delhi and around.