Environmentalists Ask: Is India’s Government Making Bad Air Worse?
As officials across various layers of Indian government scrambled to respond, Mr. Modi
did not say — or tweet, which is how he often communicates — a word about it.
An adviser gave the impression that the prime minister was not more engaged
because the central government considered air pollution a problem for just a couple of weeks a year, and a Delhi-centric one at that.
An adviser to Mr. Modi said speeding up approvals of commercial projects had helped India jump 30 places this
year on the World Bank’s “ease of doing business” rankings, something foreign investors appreciated.
“Are the people of Delhi supposed to bear this?”
The bigger question might be: Why can’t India, which has made enormous strides fighting poverty
and aspires to be a superpower, get a handle on its pollution?
NEW DELHI — As millions of Indians watched a televised cricket match this week
between the national teams of India and Sri Lanka, the game suddenly stopped.
But they argue not only that Mr. Modi has failed to adequately respond, but
that his business-friendly policies, like loosening rules on construction sites, have made a toxic air problem even worse.
