The importance of public participation in framing air pollution policy: outcome of a judicial review in New Delhi, India

SETTING: Air pollution, including particulate matter, causes health problems for residents of major cities around the world, including New Delhi, India. Public participation is important in framing policies related to such public health issues. OBJECTIVE: To study how the public’s comments on air pollution, which had been collected on the orders of the Indian Supreme Court, influenced air pollution policy in New Delhi. DESIGN: We filed a Right to Information Act, 2005 application with the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to obtain a copy of the comments. These were compiled and compared with key major areas identified in the policy released by the regulatory authority. RESULTS: There were a wide range of comments from experts, residents and resident associations. In total, 115 comments were compiled and studied, and several recurring themes were found to have been incorporated into the policy. This included the need to switch to green public transport and cycling, the use of alternative fuels and reduced agricultural crop residue burning. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that the public and experts have indeed influenced the CAQM air pollution policy. This is important, as it highlights a democratic, inclusive and stakeholder-based approach. Nonetheless, a future concern lies in how this policy is translated into actionable regulations with effective implementation in the field.