The Smogged City
Job Board + Air Quality + MNREGA + CPL Fellowship
Hello, this week we cover top policy jobs, deteriorating air quality, MNREGA, the migrant crisis and the CPL Fellowship.
Job Board
Location- Punjab, India (Remote)
Location- Gurgaon, Haryana
Location- Bangalore, India
Find the details below
Deteriorating Air Quality
The poor Air Quality Index (AQI) all over North India has yet again made it to the headlines. Recently, Supreme Court raised questions to the Delhi Government due to the annual pollution trend, where the situation seems to be worsening. Here are some reasons supplemented with recent research and data on why the AQI is worsening.
Stubble Burning- Every year, farmers all over north India indulge in the practice of stubble burning, and this year the practice contributed to 35% of Delhi’s pollution.
Vehicular emissions- As per an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) - 50 % of the pollution in Delhi was because of vehicles from October 24 to November 8. Moreover, the ongoing smog situation is a public health emergency and the longest in four years.
Meteorological conditions- Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), subcommittee (a plan by the government to provide immediate relief from poor air quality), said the prevailing weather conditions will be undesirable for driving off of pollutants and alerted the agencies that they need to be ready to implement measures under the 'emergency' category.
Action Plan-
GRAP stated that governments and private agencies are advised to reduce vehicle usage by at least 30 per cent and to limit outdoor activities.
The measures that need to be followed are- stopping the entry of trucks in Delhi, ban on construction activities, and introducing the odd-even car rationing scheme.
(Sources: Hindustan Times, Business Standard, NDTV)
The Migrant Crisis
With the deepening migrant crisis, 3000 people are stuck between the borders of Poland and Belarus. The police have been deployed at the border to stop the flow of migrants into Poland. Most migrants include women and children, who are facing greater challenges amidst the extreme weather conditions.
Politics driving the crisis
Action- Political instability has set in with the election of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko as 100,000 people rallied against him on the streets. In response to this, the government conducted widespread arrests.
Reaction- The European Union and the U.S. imposed sanctions on Lukashenko’s government.
Response- Belarus President announced that he no longer abides by the agreement which supports illegal migration by explaining that the EU sanctions deprived his government of funds needed to contain flows of migrants.
Impact on the migrants- Planes carrying migrants from Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan began arriving in Belarus. With this sudden change, they headed for the borders with Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, which led to this present crisis.
How are the countries and the communities reacting?
Poland- Recently, a law has been passed in Poland which allows police to ignore shelter requests by migrants and the government has also approved of building a border wall that will keep them out of the country.
European Union- As per the EU, the border situation in Belarus is a hybrid attack but Belarus has refuted these allegations and announced that it will no longer stop refugees and migrants from trying to enter the EU.
International communities & media- Global and national NGOs have requested Poland to authorize access to border regions to provide migrants with food supplies and medical aids. No journalists or aid organizations are allowed in certain areas where the migrants are staying.
(Sources: Guardian, Deutsche Welle, Bloomberg)
Why is MNREGA in the news?
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), a flagship scheme by the Government of India enacted in 2005 to provide 100 days of employment within the area of 5 kilometres. If the area covered is beyond 5km, a 10% increase is given to the workers. The act has been facing backlash, due to budgetary allocations, delayed payments of the registered workers under the act.
Budgetary Discrepancies
The government allocated a budget of Rs 73,000 for the Financial Year 2021- 22 which was 34 % less than the previous year’s budget. Activist groups like People's Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) has highlighted this issue and raised the question of ‘why’.
What are the reasons for the delayed payment?
Insufficient budget allocation: The current allocated budget of Rs 73,000 crore, out of which 55,915.31 crore has already been exhausted in the first five months of FY22.
Dependence on Tech & Centralization- Dependence on technology has increased the complexities for creating IDs and transferring the payments to the workers.
Low wage rate: As per the law, the MNREGA wage rate cannot be less than the minimum wages, still, there are 17 states where the rate is less than the minimum wages which result in a lack of interest among workers.
On-ground Perspective- Dinesh Jagta, Pradhan, Gram Panchayat, Cheog, stated: “that it is for the first time that such a long delay in the payments has occurred and besides affecting the workers, it has also slowed down development works”.
Centre’s Perspective- Senior Official of the Rural Development Ministry stated that “payments will be done, once the funds are available, but the work will not stop. What the official emphasized was that states can provide temporary funds and then once the fund is available, it can be reimbursed.”
(Sources: Economic Times, Down To Earth, Business Standards, The Hindu)
CPL Fellowship Application are Open
We are hosting Prateek Kanwal (Founder, CPL Fellowship and Kautilya School of Public Policy) and Ratnadeep Chakraborty (Fellow, CPL), this week! Stay tuned for updates.