South Central

Pollution: Modi govt’s biggest policy failure | Ramachandra Guha on South Central 101

South Central examines why India’s air pollution crisis keeps returning every year, and whether firecrackers are the real story. The discussion looks at vehicle emissions, stubble burning, industrial pollution and construction dust, and asks why governments struggle to find lasting solutions. It also takes stock of Vijay’s TVK government in Tamil Nadu after six months in office.

Dhanya Rajendran, Pooja Prasanna

Published:13th Nov, 2026 at 9:04 PM

In this week’s South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna are joined by author Ramachandra Guha for a conversation on India’s annual pollution crisis, the Diwali debate around firecrackers, and why the issue fades from public and political attention within weeks.

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India’s air pollution crisis returns every year. This time around Diwali, the AQI levels climbed and the debate turned to firecrackers. But is it just about crackers? What about vehicle emissions, stubble burning, industrial pollution and construction dust? And why do governments keep struggling to find lasting solutions?

South Central episode 101 features this conversation, where author Ramachandra Guha joins Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna for the first discussion.

Guha points out that governments have repeatedly failed to address India’s environmental crisis despite having access to scientific expertise. Solutions such as incentivising farmers to stop stubble burning, he says, require careful economic planning and cooperation between states. Instead, the issue receives attention for a few weeks every year before disappearing from public and political conversations.

The discussion also examines how religious sentiment and misinformation have complicated the debate around pollution. Guha criticises the anti-science approach of political leaders and the tendency to dismiss environmental concerns as attacks on religion or development. He argues that this makes it harder to build public acceptance for solutions.

The second conversation turns to Tamil Nadu, where Vijay’s TVK government has completed six months in office. Joining the discussion are author Kannan and Deccan Herald assistant editor Sivapriyan.

The panel examines the government's mixed record.

“The biggest problem is the U-turns of this government,” Sivapriyan says. “You talk about transparency but you bring a GO that says the public Law and Order Department under the Chief Minister will be exempt from the Right to Information Act (RTI),” he adds. He also says that although Vijay’s popularity is intact, it won’t guarantee stability for the government in the long run.

Talking about how long will the public tolerate governing lapses as TVK is new entrant, Kannan says that people will be generous with the government for another six months, and then it will start showing, first in the local body polls to begin with.

To the question of Vijay staying away from other national parties, Dhanya says that the challenge for him and TVK is to first stay in power for five years and simultaneously win the Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

Tune into the full episode of South Central for these conversations.

Audio timecodes:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:01:31 - Headlines

00:08:33 - Pollution & politics

00:42:12 - TVK

01:13:24 - Recommendations

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