Opinion
A
s per a report released in March 2019, 22 of the world’s 30
most polluted cities are in India. Gurugram, once nicknamed
as the ‘Millennium City’ of India and one of the most
important suburbs of the country’s capital, is on the number one
spot of this list to nobody’s elation. In 2018, the average air quality
index of the city was 135.8 – thrice of what the US Environmental
Protection Agency considers as healthy. Globally, air pollution is
anticipated to cause 7 million pre-mature deaths in 2020 with an
equally insidious economic impact.
The quality of the air that we breathe has reached deplorable levels.
While the government has taken cognizance of the situation and
acted by rolling out several initiatives and programmes, the most
recent of which is the National Clean Air Programme launched on
January 10 this year, the impact of these exercises will take a while
before being palpable. The government’s target is to reduce air
pollution by 20-30 per cent by 2024 but 5 years is a long time to
keep breathing severely harmful air.
The problem of air quality is not just impacting human life, it is
also creating deep and challenging roadblocks for the economy.
The travel and tourism sector is one of the most susceptible ones
to this problem. A survey conducted by Opinion Research Corp.
indicated that 66.6 per cent of frequent travelers and hotel guests
are most concerned about the indoor air quality in the spaces they
live in while travelling.
To alleviate such concerns as well as to offer a meaningful solution
to the indoor air quality problem, the real estate industry and the
hospitality sector in India are together taking matters in their
proverbial hands as far as possible. Yes, the large-scale deleterious
situation can only be solved by policy initiative and government
action but a few innovations and a conscious investment in
making indoor air cleaner at the private sector level can also create
a significant difference by improving the quality of life we are
currently living.40 july 2019 ACEARCHITECTURECONSTRUCTIONENGINEERINGUPDATE
Buildings that allow us to
breathe clean
Builders are being able to achieve this by tying up with green tech
companies that are rolling out innovative air cleaner solutions.