Health Begins Beyond Hospitals: Why Environment and Pollution Matter

While this truth is well known, it rarely receives the consistent attention it deserves. Ironically, many of these critical areas lie outside the mandate of the Ministry of Health—or even the Ministry of Water Resources—both of which themselves require stronger focus and far greater budgetary support. Unless this reality is acknowledged, meaningful change will remain elusive.

What we need is a Ministry of Environment with a much broader mandate—one that acts as a central authority integrating all agencies that affect the quality of what we consume, inhale, or are exposed to. Call it, perhaps, the Ministry for Survival. Such a body should ideally bring under its umbrella institutions like the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Pollution Control Boards, and other similar departments. Only then can we achieve synergy, coordinated policymaking, and effective implementation—aligning agencies such as the Urban and Rural Development Ministries, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, and municipal corporations.

Beyond Air, Water, and Food: The Overlooked Pollution

When we think of pollution, we often restrict the discussion to air, water, and food. But what about noise? In states like Uttar Pradesh, blaring DJs at weddings are seen as a cultural norm. Yet for the elderly, the sick, or migraine patients, it is not just entertainment—it is torture. For the host, it may be one event, but for the neighborhood, it’s a weekly assault on peace and health.

Food Safety and Hygiene: A Forgotten Priority

Public health must also encompass hygiene standards in food establishments. Popular brands are not always a guarantee of cleanliness. Hygiene education, especially for young girls who often grow into primary caregivers, should be embedded as a natural part of our public health mission. It is distressing to see children in villages consuming junk food of unknown origin, with little to no regulation.

Equally concerning is the widespread practice of reusing cooking oil in street food stalls. Despite an FSSAI rule that bans oil reuse beyond three cycles, small eateries routinely ignore it, frying in oil until it turns dark and toxic—creating harmful trans fats linked to cancer and heart disease. Enforcement is rare, and when inspections do occur, they too often become an avenue for bribes rather than genuine regulation.

Governance, Not Policy, Is the Real Crisis

My experience in Uttar Pradesh has shown me that the public health crisis is not due to a lack of policy but due to flawed implementation—crippled by bureaucracy, corruption, and harassment masquerading as regulation. Enforcement, which should be seamless, instead becomes yet another opportunity for exploitation and negligence.

Hospitals are inaugurated with much fanfare but often remain dysfunctional—overgrown with weeds, lacking staff, and with no functioning facilities. I have personally witnessed such situations and felt helpless anger. What purpose does a hospital serve if it is opened without doctors, equipment, or basic infrastructure?

The Water Crisis in Unnao and Beyond

Take the example of Unnao, my constituency. During the monsoon, the health system collapses under the burden of waterborne diseases. Poor sanitation and unchecked industrial pollution have made clean drinking water a distant dream. The Amrit Jal Mission, though ambitious on paper, has achieved little on the ground—roads are dug, pipelines are laid, yet taps remain dry.

The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board continues to report alarming levels of contamination in rivers like the Ganga and Gomti due to industrial waste and sewage. Fluoride and arsenic in groundwater threaten millions not just in Unnao, but also in Raebareli, Ballia, and Ghazipur. This is a ticking time bomb for public health.

Structural Realignment: The Only Way Forward

Some states with stronger leadership may perform better, but true progress requires a structural realignment of environmental governance, along with coordination between departments responsible for infrastructure, sanitation, and road construction. Without such synergy, we remain trapped in an endless cycle—roads being dug up repeatedly for different projects, rarely completed, and often existing only on paper.

A Call for Leadership and Willpower

I am not disheartened, but I am anguished. My appeal to those in power is simple: we need your will more than your words. True progress lies not just in economic growth or political dominance, but in the health and safety of citizens. A nation prospers when its children breathe clean air, when women walk without fear, and when families live without the constant threat of disease.

Such conditions do not emerge by accident—they demand vision, commitment, and leadership. A true leader understands that safeguarding the health of citizens is the most powerful form of nation-building. Wealth and resources mean little if people are unwell or unsafe.

I do not claim to have all the answers. But I do know this: if there is political will, there is always a way. Bring the experts to the table. Brainstorm solutions. Implement with sincerity. Nothing is impossible.

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The author is a former Member of Parliament, current National Secretary of the Samajwadi Party, and a veteran social worker.

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