Centre Evading Facts on India’s Global Air Quality Rankings: MP V. Sivadasan

New Delhi: The central government’s unwillingness to provide even basic factual information in response to a parliamentary question regarding India’s global air quality rankings is unacceptable, MP Dr. V. Sivadasan said.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change declined to share India’s current status in internationally recognised indicators such as the IQAir World Air Quality Ranking, the World Health Organization’s Global Air Quality Database, the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study.

Instead of answering the question, the ministry stated that “global rankings of cities based on pollution levels are not carried out by official agencies.” However, all the indices referenced in the question are internationally accepted and widely used by governments, researchers, and public health experts worldwide. India is included in these rankings every year, making the ministry’s response a purely technical evasion, Dr. Sivadasan said.

He added that the government is reluctant to openly acknowledge India's poor performance in global air quality indicators.

The reply only discussed national standards and an internal ranking mechanism—neither of which were asked about in the parliamentary question.

Dr. Sivadasan pointed out that this is not the first time such evasive answers have been given, and warned that the Modi government’s hesitation to acknowledge basic facts will worsen the country’s situation.

Many central departments are increasingly refusing to give clear answers to parliamentary queries, he said. Millions in India breathe highly polluted air every single day, and suppressing data will not change the reality. A government responsible to its people must ensure transparency; avoiding questions will not help improve the environment or safeguard public health.

Dr. Sivadasan urged the central government to answer parliamentary questions truthfully, reveal India’s actual global rankings, and stop withholding factual information.