Jamshedpur: The Steel City’s reputation as one of India’s cleaner industrial cities has taken a hit, with the latest Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan ranking Jamshedpur 36th among 48 cities with a million-plus population.The city scored 147.3 points in the latest survey. The assessment considers not only ambient air quality but also measures taken to curb vehicular and industrial emissions, road dust, construction waste and municipal solid waste.Environmental experts blamed diesel autos, industrial emissions, road dust and open garbage burning for the poor showing, and called for an urgent transition to cleaner public transport.Environmental scientist Himdari Shekhar said the city has more than 30,000 diesel-run autorickshaws, many of which do not have valid fitness certificates. More than half are over 15 years old but continue to ply on city roads, emitting toxic pollutants, Shekhar said. “There is an urgent need to ban diesel autos in the industrial city and allow only CNG and electric autos,” Shekhar added.The administration has made repeated attempts to phase out fossil fuel autos. In 2022, the East Singhbhum administration set a deadline for operators to switch to CNG or electric vehicles, but opposition from auto unions led to an extension.Botany professor Ashutosh Gupta said the findings should serve as a wake-up call for the govt and industries in Jamshedpur and neighbouring Adityapur. Factory owners must act responsibly and control emissions from chimneys, he said, while calling for a state policy to convert all public transport autos to green fuel within a year.A BIT-Mesra study has raised further concern. Assistant professor Tanushree Bhattacharya said PM10 and PM2.5 samples collected in Jamshedpur showed elevated levels of toxic heavy metals, including cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel, zinc and copper. The study placed the city’s Ecological Risk Index in the “dangerous” category.Jharkhand Pollution Control Board regional director Jitendra Kumar Singh said diesel autos were a key reason Jamshedpur ranked behind Dhanbad and Ranchi. He also cited industries near residential areas and garbage burning, and called for stricter enforcement and more tree plantation.The findings underline the need for cleaner transport, tighter industrial emission controls and better waste management.
