The Central Government said that we do not have any concrete data which establishes a link between pollution and lung disease

New Delhi: The air pollution has again shot up in many parts of the country including the national capital Delhi. Schools have been put in hybrid mode due to rising pollution. In private offices, 50 per cent of the workforce has been called to the office and there is also a work from home order. Meanwhile, the issue of air pollution has also been raised in Parliament. People are facing many problems due to the water shortage. The central government said that there is no concrete data to establish a direct link between high levels of Air Quality Index (AQI) and lung diseases. This was stated by Minister of State for Environment and Forests Kirti Vardhan in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. The Union Minister, however, admitted that air pollution is one of the aggravating factors for respiratory diseases and their associated ailments. The Minister said this in a written reply to a question by BJP member Laxmikant Bajpai.
BJP MP Laxmikant Bajpai had asked if the government was aware that studies and medical tests have confirmed that prolonged exposure to hazardous AQI levels in Delhi-NCR is causing lung fibrosis, leading to irreversible reduction in lung capacity.
Bajpai had also sought to know whether the lung elasticity among the citizens of Delhi-NCR has reduced by about 50 per cent as compared to those living in cities with good AQI. "The BJP MP further asked if the government has any" "solution" "to save lakhs of residents of Delhi-NCR from deadly diseases like pulmonary fibrosis, COPD, emphysema, declining lung function and ever decreasing lung elasticity."