The ban on generators is another one in a list of impractical ideas to control pollution that skirts the central issue

The ban on using generators in the National Capital Region (NCR), when air quality levels hit hazardous highs,  must have been thought up by someone who lives in a ground floor apartment. Or that must have been the line by someone living in a penthouse on the 13th floor of a highrise apartment block that would have cost the equivalent of half a million US dollars. While the overall electricity situation has improved in Delhi dramatically over the past decade, there are still power-cuts in Gurugram and Noida, both of which are home to millions who have spent their life savings on fancy apartments. To be then told that they will have to climb 12,13 or 14 storeys because the lights are out, because there is an illogical ban on gensets, is unreasonable. Even if they manage the climb up, they cannot use the internet or possibly even run their kitchens, thanks to almost everything running on electricity. This is not to argue against the continuing incompetence of electricity providers in being unable to assure guaranteed 24-hour electricity in India, although that situation is improving, but the impracticality of this decision has to be made clear to the powers that be.

This also highlights how authorities are charging at windmills while ignoring the elephant in the room as farmers in Punjab and Haryana continue to burn fields, many with political patronage. There are several causes for why the farmers burn their fields, from a lack of cheap labour to changing crop patterns, but it is contingent upon the Government to at least give them subsidised equipment to remove the stubble. Hundreds of crores of rupees have been collected as a green cess over the past few years and that money should be deployed to resolve this problem instead of sitting in the bank. This could give impetus to agricultural equipment manufacturers as well as improve the electricity situation in multi-storey buildings. Yes, poor air quality is a serious problem in the capital but we must not end up cutting off our nose to spite the face. Not allowing gensets in the current time is a stupid idea that will inconvenience more people than solving the pollution crisis. Setting strict pollution norms for generators will help more.