Every year, the media rises to India’s air crisis challenge when the numbers go off the charts. But as soon as the air quality index turns less critical, the headlines fizzle out, leaving little accountability for those who can fix the problem.
But we have made an exception to try to change all that with the Fight To Breathe – a collaboration between readers, experts and Newslaundry. The objective is to amplify the issue beyond the life of a news cycle, and to dive deep into the root causes, investigate government measures, and come up with actionable solutions. And unless more people join us, this emergency will never be resolved.
There are easy ways you can contribute.
#1: The RTI method
You can ask any government department – including the offices of the prime minister and the president – about anything in the public interest. The idea here is that the more questions you ask of public officials, the more information you get on what they are doing to address this crisis.
Here’s how you can help push for accountability via RTI on the issue of air pollution, in five easy online steps.
Step 1: Go to rtionline.gov.in and click on ‘submit request’.
Step 2: After going through the guidelines that appear on the screen, tick the checkbox at the bottom and hit ‘submit’.
Step 3: Fill out basic personal details and select the relevant department. Ensure the phone number and email address are correct to receive OTPs and updates.
Step 4: Questions must be framed carefully in the ‘text for RTI request application’ box. They must be clear, concise, and restricted to the public interest. Personal queries can’t be made unless connected to the public interest. And understand that information linked to security or intelligence cannot be shared through RTI.
For example, if we want to understand the National Green Tribunal’s role in acting against companies that contributed to pollution in Delhi-NCR, select the NGT in the second drop-down column in the form after choosing the environment ministry in the first. The questions can be like:
➨ Please state the number of companies/entities that have been fined by the NGT for spreading pollution or causing environmental damage in the Delhi-NCR region from March 1, 2019 to November 30, 2024.
➨ Please share the names of the companies/entities that have been fined in the above-mentioned period with the amount of fines imposed on each of these companies/entities during the period.
➨ Please provide details about the nature of pollution or environmental damage caused by each of these companies or entities which led to the imposition of fines.
Or, if you want to find out if the police have actually taken any action to enforce the ban on firecrackers, this is how you can frame your query after selecting Delhi Police under the Ministry of Home Affairs:
➨ Please provide the number of FIRs registered in Delhi for bursting crackers from October 30, 2024, to November 2, 2024. Kindly provide the number of cases registered on each day, from October 30, 2024 to November 2, 2024.
➨ Please provide details on penalties and punishment in these cases. How many of these cases resulted in the imposition of a fine? How many led to imprisonment? How many cases saw both fine and imprisonment?
Step 5: Enter the security code, hit submit and pay Rs 10 as fee via UPI or any other mode. You’ll get a response from the department’s PIO within 30 days. If unsatisfactory, file a first appeal for free, and get another response within 45 days. You can file a second appeal too (there’s a 90-day window for a response).
Fee is exempt for the BPL category. And a similar process can be followed for state information commissions which have their own websites (such as https://rtionline.delhi.gov.in/).
And share the official response with submissions@newslaundry.com
#2: Repost with AQI
The public can repost our content using the hashtag #FightToBreathe, with a screenshot of the air quality index from their nearest air monitoring station. Here’s the link to trace the nearest station in your state and town. If there are no centres near you, specify that in your post using the hashtag #FightToBreathe.
#3: Pitch in ideas
If you are an expert on the subject and if you have ideas for the campaign, or if you know someone who may have any, submissions@newslaundry.com will receive all the suggestions.
#4: Power our campaign
As part of this campaign, Newslaundry will roll out a series of reports, videos, investigations, cartoons, a daily show, and expert collaborations.
Our daily show, Aaj Ka AQI, will see reporters stand outside one institutional building or office or residence of those in power, while mentioning the air quality in that particular area as well as the measures taken by the department or officer concerned.
Separately, we have a panel of experts to consistently advise our editorial team on issues that must take the centrestage in our reportage.
Newslaundry’s cartoon series So Sketchy is making a comeback for this campaign for sharp, quirky takes on the seats of power.
We’ve made an exception for this kind of a campaign only once before. And this requires extensive resources. So click here to contribute an amount of your choice and be part of the Fight To Breathe.
Newslaundry is a reader-supported, ad-free, independent news outlet based out of New Delhi. Support their journalism, here.
