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ISLAMABAD: Major Indian cities, including Jaipur, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi, face mounting challenges in urban infrastructure, pollution, and civic management, which highlight worsening liveability and environmental crises, according to multiple media reports. Across these cities, everyday civic and environmental challenges are visible on the streets, affecting residents&rsquo; safety, health, and overall quality of life. Here&rsquo;s a closer look at the challenges facing each city. JaipurJaipur continues to grapple with everyday urban problems that directly affect liveability.&nbsp; The Times of India reported on Dec. 27 that several pedestrian foot overbridges at major junctions, including Collectorate Circle, Narayan Singh Circle, and Tonk Road, are severely neglected, with nonfunctional escalators, foul odors, and closures that force pedestrians to risk crossing busy roads, raising serious safety concerns.&nbsp; In a separate article on Dec. 26, The Times of India highlighted how an illegal Thursday market in Mahesh Nagar swells the streets with unregulated vendors, choking narrow roads and hindering emergency access near Maya Devi Hospital. Residents complained that repeated pleas to the Jaipur Municipal Corporation have gone unaddressed.&nbsp; A recent BBC report, &ldquo;Toxic air, broken roads and unpicked rubbish - why India&#39;s big cities are becoming unliveable&rdquo;, highlights issues such as choked traffic, foul air, and heaps of uncleared rubbish facing many Indian cities, including Jaipur.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;In Jaipur, you will find the most sublime examples of centuries-old architecture defaced by tobacco stains and jostling for space with a car mechanic&#39;s workshop, the report states. BengaluruBengaluru&#39;s infrastructure and environmental quality remain key points of criticism in the Indian media.&nbsp; According to Bangalore Mirror on Dec. 29, air quality in the city deteriorated throughout 2025, with average AQI figures climbing sharply compared with previous years and the city seeing its worst pollution in five years, frequently entering unhealthy categories late in the year.&nbsp; Local media also report daily civic challenges beyond pollution: The Times of India on Dec. 25&nbsp;noted that Bengaluru&#39;s streets remain deadly for pedestrians, with nearly 28% of road fatalities involving pedestrians due to poor infrastructure such as broken footpaths, illegal pavement parking, and inadequate crossings, even as authorities plan repairs.&nbsp; In Bengaluru -- often called India&#39;s Silicon Valley for its many IT companies and start-up headquarters -- there were public outbursts from citizens and billionaire entrepreneurs alike, fed up with its traffic snarls and garbage piles, the BBC report highlights. MumbaiIn Mumbai, the civic administration&#39;s response to environmental degradation is under scrutiny.&nbsp; The Times of India on Dec. 25 reported a strong rebuke from the Bombay High Court to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for failing to enforce dust mitigation guidelines at construction and concrete sites, ordering daily surprise inspections and broader publicization of air quality measures to curb ongoing pollution problems.&nbsp; Although tall buildings and rapid development often feature in discussions, media criticism focuses on governance failings, particularly how rapid growth has outpaced effective implementation of environmental controls and infrastructure maintenance, forcing court intervention and highlighting systemic weaknesses.&nbsp; In Mumbai, the financial capital, citizens staged a rare protest against the worsening pothole problem, as clogged sewage lines dumped garbage onto flooded roads during the extended monsoon, the BBC report mentions. DelhiDelhi&#39;s air pollution continues to dominate headlines.&nbsp; Independent reporting by NDTV and associated data on Dec. 29 show the city&#39;s AQI frequently falls within &ldquo;severe&rdquo; bands.&nbsp; Moreover, a New Indian Express analysis published on Nov. 29 noted that Delhi had become the most polluted major city in India over the past decade based on longitudinal air quality&nbsp;data, with persistent unhealthy air quality exacerbated by seasonal smog, vehicle emissions, and crop-burning effects across the Indo-Gangetic Plain.&nbsp; According to the BBC report, in Delhi&#39;s annual winter of discontent, toxic smog left children and the elderly gasping, with doctors advising some to leave the city. Even footballer Lionel Messi&#39;s visit this month was overshadowed by fans chanting against the capital&#39;s poor air quality, the BBC report said.&nbsp;

India

Urban centers, including Jaipur, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi, face mounting challenges in infrastructure, pollution, and civic management, which highlight worsening liveability and environmental crises, according to multiple media reports.

India’s major cities grapple with pollution and failing infrastructure: Reports

ISLAMABAD: Indian opposition&nbsp;has strongly criticized the Modi government for claiming in Parliament that there is no conclusive evidence linking air pollution to deaths or disease, citing multiple scientific studies that show air pollution significantly contributes to mortality and morbidity in India. All India Congress Committee general secretary (Communications)&nbsp;Jairam Ramesh said this in a rebuttal posted on social media platform X on Monday.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2000406730975666360&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=4d640488c048765ecaeb3aa3f3dddb306fdb0f42&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 777px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>According to an Indian media report, Minister of State for Health, Prataprao Jadhav, told Rajya Sabha (Upper House) on Tuesday, that &ldquo;there is no conclusive data available in the country to establish a direct correlation of death/disease exclusively due to air pollution.&rdquo; &ldquo;Air pollution is one of the triggering factors for respiratory ailments and associated diseases,&rdquo; Jadhav said in a written reply. &ldquo;The health effects of air pollution are a synergistic manifestation of factors, which include food habits, occupational habits, socioeconomic status, medical history, immunity, heredity, etc, of the individuals,&rdquo; the minister has stated. About 34,000 deaths&nbsp;Ramesh reacting to the minister&rsquo;s reply in the Parliament, said in his statement that this is the second time the Modi government has shown &ldquo;shocking insensitivity&rdquo;&nbsp;by denying that air pollution contributes to mortality or morbidity. The Indian Congress leader pointed out that the Modi government had made a similar claim earlier on 29th July 2024 in the Rajya Sabha. The opposition leader, while rebutting the government&rsquo;s claim shared that &ldquo;in early July 2024, a study published in the prestigious Lancet journal showed that 7.2% of all deaths in India are associated with air pollution &ndash; about 34,000 deaths each year in just 10 cities.&rdquo; 1.5 million additional deaths&nbsp;Ramesh, in his statement noted that in August 2024, a study by the Mumbai-based International Institute of Population Sciences used government data from the National Family and Health Survey (NFHS V) to show that in districts where air pollution exceeds National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), there is a 13% increase in premature mortality for adults and around 100% increase in mortality for children.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/5eccd9e2-f2f6-4f7f-a28a-d8136335c65d-Tourist in Delhi.jpg" alt="Tourist in Delhi.jpg" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">NEW DELHI: A tourist wearing a face mask looks at decorative items displayed at a market in New Delhi on December 8, 2025. (Photo by AFP/Sajjad Hussain)</figcaption></figure> The Indian opposition leader further stated that in December 2024, a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health estimated that long-term exposure to polluted air contributes to roughly 1.5 million additional deaths in India each year compared with a scenario in which the country met the World Health Organization (WHO)&#39;s recommended safe-exposure limits. 43% jump&nbsp;Ramesh, quoting a November 2025 report prepared by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, USA stated that about two million deaths in India were linked to air pollution &mdash; a 43% jump since the year 2000. &ldquo;About 70% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease deaths were on account of air pollution,&rdquo; he said quoting the report. Price of growth&nbsp;The Indian opposition leader stressed the government to update the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) last promulgated in November 2009, and an overhaul of National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2017. The minister concluded his statement by saying &ldquo;India simply cannot afford to pollute its way to prosperity. Increased pollution need not and must not be the price the people of the country are compelled to pay for faster growth.&rdquo;

Opposition leader Jairam Ramesh said in a statement that this is the second time the Modi government has shown “shocking insensitivity by denying that air pollution contributes to mortality or morbidity.”

Articles tagged with "Air Pollution in India"

India’s major cities grapple with pollution and failing infrastructure: Reports

Opposition slams Indian government for denying link between air pollution and deaths