Delhi is like a gas chamber every year in the months of November-December. The political slugfest hits high tones with both the Delhi government and the Centre indulging in a blame game. It’s the same set of arguments every year. Newspapers run the same editorials, while people inhale toxins.

While the governments – both State and Centre – are to be blamed equally for bad policies and even worse their implementation, the residents of the city also have to share the blame. A poor civic sense, where even on days when smog is thick enough to affect visibility, people continue bursting firecrackers, adding to the crisis.

It’s of course a health crisis with no solution in sight, primarily owing to an absence of any political will. What has happened as a result of this annual toxic season is that Delhi is no longer favoured by Indians flying back to the country. There is a large section of Indians, who move abroad, whether to the Middle East, the United States or parts of Europe, for better job opportunities. And many Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) often purchase a home in India, either for the future or as an investment. According to the World Bank estimates, NRIs’ investments in the Indian real estate market touched $13 billion in 2018.

But recent surveys done by many investment groups point out that Delhi has fallen in the list of preferred cities for homebuyers. Cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai are increasingly being preferred over Delhi. Gurugram remains a hotbed for property-buying by NRIs, but trends indicate that people would rather now settle down south.

One of the primary reasons for avoiding Delhi is the air pollution crisis, among other factors. According to advisories of some of India’s leading real estate companies, Delhi today no longer features in their list of cities as to where NRIs should buy property. While cities like Mumbai (India’s financial capital), and others like Pune boast of clean and livable environments, the quality of life in Delhi is today severely handicapped by pollution. Of course, for many people who come from the northern part of India, Delhi is culturally closer to their sense of home. Yet health issues are forcing people to consider other parts of the country.

In the midst of this crisis, India’s pollution control authority said its own reading of Delhi’s 24-hour air quality index (AQI) was 484, classified as “severe plus”, the highest so far this year. India’s Central Pollution Control Board defines an AQI reading of 0-50 as “good”. This number is a chilling reminder of the health hazards citizens of Delhi face every year, and it gets worse for people who have asthma, children and pregnant women. Experts point out that the toxic air quality is reducing life expectancy in the city by an average of seven years.

It also has a negative impact on tourism. The last two months of the year are ideally when NRIs plan to visit India. With the smog, potential health issues, and the global media coverage of the pollution in the city being equivalent to smoking 40 plus cigarettes a day, many choose to skip Delhi.

It then really boils down to being a case of apathy, that Delhi today holds the title of being the most polluted city in the world. In a world which is increasingly debating climate change and the need to switch to non-carbon sources of energy, the government needs to wake up. It is a health crisis, a tourism downer and in the long run will see people moving away from the city to live in greener cities. – Simran Sodhi is Executive Editor of nrifocus.com