EJN-Supported Story Prompts Government Action Against Air-Polluting Railway Cargo Shed in Madhya Pradesh, India

Itarsi is one of the oldest and busiest railway stations in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state, located at the intersection of important east–west and north–south routes. Thousands of people travel through the station every day. And every day, at an adjoining warehouse, thousands of bags of freight—mostly cement and agricultural fertilizer—are loaded and offloaded onto trucks, releasing clouds of fine dust into the air. The dust infiltrates the lungs of laborers, train passengers and the residents of nearby homes, posing a significant health hazard.

In September 2022, Indian journalist Rahul Sharma was awarded a story grant by EJN to report on air pollution, as part of the Clean Air Catalyst project. The resulting multimedia story was published in Hindi on November 29, 2022 by The Sootr—a digital news portal where Sharma worked at the time. (With EJN support, Sharma also published stories on air pollution in Indore and Jabalpur.)

It wasn’t the first time that Sharma, who lives in Bhopal, had reported on the issue of air pollution caused by industrial activity at the Itarsi railway station’s cargo shed (colloquially referred to as a goods shed), and on the Railways’ longstanding negligence in addressing it. Sharma’s consistent reporting brought the issue to the attention of well-known activists, and ultimately the National Green Tribunal, prompting the Railways to act. 

The journalist’s first story on air pollution in Itarsi came out in July 2022. “I realized that air pollution data provided by the authorities was available only in one or two cities such as Indore and Bhopal. It was near impossible to find information on air quality in other cities such as Jabalpur and Itarsi where many big construction projects are going on,” Sharma explained. 

“I felt that if I could do some reports on the status of air quality in these cities using on-ground data, it could help draw public attention to the reliability of available data, and also demand action for better air quality.” 

With support from EJN, the journalist traveled 100km south to Itarsi for a follow-up report. Guided by his mentor Sudhir Gore, a veteran journalist and editor, and experts from the Clean Air Catalyst consortium, he learned more about the impacts of air pollution to underpin his reporting. He talked to the laborers who worked at the 10,000 sq.meter-warehouse which had been operating for about 45 years, as well as to several locals who lived barely 250 meters away from the shed.

When he interviewed the workers for his EJN-supported story, they spoke about the health challenges they faced, describing burning and stinging in their eyes and breathing difficulties. Residents also spoke about the dust causing their children to suffer from eye irritation and skin rashes.

Cement dust contains several substances that are harmful to human health. These include nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide, crystalline silica and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5). In 2017, Kiran Singh, a researcher at the Government Science College Rewa, Awadhesh Pratap Singh University, analyzed the impacts of cement dust pollution in Satna district, also in Madhya Pradesh. The study documented the prevalence of respiratory ailments such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, and lung function impairment among factory workers and nearby communities. 

Using a handheld air quality sensor, Sharma had earlier showed on camera that the level of particulate matter 10 (PM10) around the warehouse was over 800, pointing to hazardous air quality. 

This time, too, he measured the AQI with a portable monitor (a device approved by the Indian courts for accurate readings), but used the methods CAC scientists had outlined, taking a more scientific approach to his reporting, he said. Sharma admitted that when he first did so for his story back in July 2022, he ended up with “sensational” rather than accurate readings, because he’d measured PM10 and PM2.5 when a truck had just offloaded some cargo, and the clouds of cement dust had yet to settle. But when he repeated it to assess the baseline air quality at the warehouse correctly, the values of both PM2.5 and PM10 were still higher than the permissible limit.

According to Sharma, neither journalists nor the public are properly informed about the consequences of air pollution.

 “The current data shared by the responsible monitoring agencies tell us about only some metro [area]s, which is insufficient. As a result, people are falling prey to various dangerous pollution-borne diseases,” he said.

Consistent reporting—and a case at the environmental court

His report stoked growing public debate on this topic in Itarsi and also in Bhopal—the state capital of Madhya Pradesh. 

Bhopal-based environmental activist Dr Subhas C Pandey shared that Sharma’s consistent reporting brought the issue to his attention.    

“I regularly follow news highlighting environmental degradation caused by human activities across the state of Madhya Pradesh…. I had previously shared information with the media about growing air pollution in several areas of Bhopal including Lalghati and Kolar, but I wasn’t aware of air pollution being an issue in Itarsi as well. After watching his first video report I realized that this issue indeed deserves public attention because the main source of the pollution is a government-owned building.” 

Pandey has filed over a dozen cases at the National Green Tribunal (NGT), a division of India’s judiciary that handles environmental disputes. He contacted the journalist to find out more. At that time, Sharma was working on his EJN-supported follow-up story – and was uncovering more information on how the laborers in Itarsi were affected, and how the Railways had thus far failed to implement any mitigatory measures to curb pollution of air, water or soil in the surroundings, or be compliant with existing Pollution Control Board guidelines. 

Armed with his findings, they decided to approach the Tribunal. Sharma, who had done extensive research on the issue for his story, agreed to be the main petitioner. He told EJN that a case filed with the NGT could strengthen locals’ demand for government action to stop the pollution. 

The application was filed on 19 October, 2022 by lawyer Ayush Gupta, seeking the closure of the polluting warehouse as it was a public health hazard (NGT Original Application No. 89/2022; Rahul Sharma V/s Divisional Railway Manager Bhopal & Ors.) Sharma was not present at the hearings, where Gupta cited his reporting on multiple occasions, while describing the effect of air pollution on workers’ health. 

On November 21, 2022, the NGT ordered a multi-disciplinary team of investigators to inspect the railway goods shed and file its findings within four weeks. 

Accordingly, on December 12, 2022, a six-member team of government officials filed their report, corroborating the facts Sharma had reported. They wrote: “At the time of visit, unloading of racks were in operation and approximately 50-60 number of trucks were engaged within the premises of the good[s] shed. It was observed that a lot of dust and fugitive emission was found in the good[s] shed area. Presently, there is no manual or mechanical mechanism to clean and collect the dust spread in the premises,” they stated. 

The committee noted that there was no infrastructure developed by the railways to control air and water pollution generated from the goods shed. Also, it found that basic facilities like toilets and shelter for laborers were not provided. 

Investigators recommended that the railway management should explore the possibility of moving the warehouse to another location with “all the arrangements as per the Central Pollution Control Board guidelines” at the earliest (see excerpt below): 

On April 20, 2023, the National Green Tribunal gave its verdict. It asked the government-run Railways to carry out their business activities at the warehouse sustainably and take appropriate measures to safeguard the air quality for the health of nearby residents, including monitoring the air quality at the location regularly, and following all other air quality maintenance guidelines laid out by the Central Pollution Control Board specifically for the loading and unloading of goods at railway stations.

According to Sharma, the story grant and mentorship from EJN helped him learn more about particulate matter and its impact on human health. He credits EJN support for enabling him to revisit Itarsi and gather new information to report using a more scientific approach—which made the Tribunal take notice, and not dismiss the case, he said.

He views the final verdict as a positive development. 

“I am happy that the court has recognized air pollution as a serious health risk and that it is important to address it. So, overall, it is good.”

Pressure mounts to deliver long-awaited action plan

The Railways were, in fact, already under scrutiny for polluting. The Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) had issued a “show cause” notice to the Railways on 28 July 2022. For months, no substantive action materialized, but on 2 December 2022, a few days before the Joint Committee came to inspect the warehouse, the railway management submitted a time-bound action plan to MPPCB.  

“The news of an NGT case being filed against the Railways had reached Itarsi. Suddenly, we saw laborers being hired, construction work started. Something was up because normally Railways works at a very slow pace,” recalled veteran journalist Dubey. 

“I was curious to know what happened, and heard from some of the laborers that the yard was being cemented and a few other things were going to happen. We then saw that when the inspection team came for their visit on NGT’s instruction, local Railways officials were flaunting these same ongoing works as their own initiative. But it was clear to us that they were doing this only because the Railways had been named in the NGT case as a respondent,” he alleged. 

The Railways told the Committee that activity to reduce air pollution was “under progress”. They were increasing the height of the boundary wall to about 20 feet using corrugated iron sheets, installing a sprinkler system, and the construction of “pucca flooring” or paved areas had already been initiated to reduce dust caused by the loading and unloading of bags of cement and fertilizer in the goods shed. As per their plan, these actions to mitigate air pollution would be completed by 15 January 2023. 

The case was closely watched and reported on by local journalists in media outlets such as Nai Duniya and Dainik Bhaskar. 

Then, even before the NGT could give its verdict and pass an order, in early January, local Member of Parliament Rao Udai Pratap Singh (also a member of the Railways Board) confirmed that the Railways had approved the relocation of the warehouse to Jujharpur, at a cost of 60 crore [or 600 million rupees, which is approximately a little over $7 million]. Jujharpur is located about 8 km south of Itarsi, some distance away from residential areas. 

The uncharacteristic haste exhibited by the Railways was also telling to Yagyadutt Gour (better known as Lalu Gour), an activist based in Itarsi. The government action was a response to the public pressure created by the tribunal’s directives to investigate and the committee’s subsequent visit, he said. 

“I have grown up here. This warehouse has been polluting our air for decades. We also held small protests a few times against it, but nothing happened. It was only after Sharma’s reports that the matter escalated so fast, prompting government action,” said Gour.

Delay in execution

In a follow-up story published on 18 January 2023, Sharma reported on the official announcement. No polluting materials would be unloaded in Itarsi, and the new warehouse would be constructed in accordance with guidelines laid out by the Central Pollution Control Board. 

In his story, he noted: “The Joint Committee constituted by the NGT had also cited the action plan given by the Railways regarding Itarsi Good (sic) Shed in its inspection report. According to which, by 15 January 2023, there was talk of constructing a 6-feet height wall, using GI sheet for 20 feet height and installing 90 sprinklers for dust separation. When the source inspected the spot, none of these works were found to be complete.” 

By August last year, some progress on these mitigatory measures had been made. Local journalists monitored the actions taken by railway authorities.

However, as of October 2024—almost two years after the NGT verdict laid out a course of action—the warehouse has still not been moved to its new location.

The delays have not come as a surprise to any of the journalists and environmental activists EJN spoke to. Sharma pointed out that bureaucracy works at a slow pace. “The warehouse has not been relocated as quickly as we had hoped, but we do hope the relocation will also happen soon,” said Dubey, acknowledging that the measures put in place by the Railways had at least brought some respite to neighboring communities. 

Both Gaur and Dubey pointed out that it was notable that information published in an environmental news report was pushing officials to act—albeit slowly—especially on a subject like air pollution.

“Indeed, it is a significant impact because not only did the court and government take action, but the entire community mobilized over the case. When the investigative team came to visit, locals were very vocal in informing them of the health challenges they were facing,” said Dubey. 

As for EJN grantee Sharma, he would like to do yet another follow-up story to track the Railways’ progress on its commitment to relocate the warehouse. "The quality of air is a really serious issue. But we normally report on air pollution in the late autumn and winter [when it tends to be worse] and focus on seasonal factors like [agricultural] stubble burning [after harvest] or Diwali crackers. So people think that it is a temporary issue. If we want to change this perception, then we need more sustained reporting and for that we need more training, more knowledge and also more funding that can help us report from the ground,” he said.  

“I hope that we can also do more reporting of air pollution in other cities,” he added. 

Banner image: Trucks outside the warehouse / Credit: Rahul Sharma.