Experts seek ‘right to cool’ for informal sector workers, Pg20

Key Highlights:

• Experts propose recognizing “right to cool” as a legal and constitutional right under Article 21, focusing on thermal comfort and heat protection for vulnerable workers.
• Over 80% of India’s workforce is informal, including street vendors, construction workers, and ragpickers, many of whom lack access to cooling infrastructure.
• A 2024 Greenpeace report found 61% of street vendors lost more than 40% of daily income due to heat, and 75% had no access to shaded or cooled spaces.
• Urgent measures proposed include paid heat leave, free water ATMs, cooling shelters, and shaded rest areas, especially for women workers.

Background/Context

• Heatwaves in India are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change.
• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of above-normal temperatures across north, central, and eastern India for April–June 2024.
• Extreme heat causes income loss, dehydration, kidney damage, and heatstroke, particularly affecting those in unorganized labor with no heat-safe infrastructure.

Why a 'Right to Cool'?

• Right to life under Article 21 includes dignified living conditions, which must now account for climate resilience.
• Urban infrastructure has failed to account for equity in climate adaptation, ignoring gender-sensitive facilities, hydration, and rest zones.
• Women in the informal economy face compounded burdens during heatwaves — childcare, water scarcity, sanitation, and safety.

Policy & Planning Gaps

• The India Cooling Action Plan (2019) recognized cooling as a developmental need but lacked rights-based or enforceable frameworks.
• City-level Heat Action Plans often exist on paper but lack accountability, budget, and gender-sensitive interventions.
• Informal workers are left out of formal occupational safety nets, with no heat-based wage protections or guaranteed breaks.

Suggested Interventions

• Enforce paid time off during red-alert days.
• Install shaded canopies, cooling zones, and misting/fan-equipped shelters in urban areas.
• Deploy mobile hydration units, particularly in marketplaces and construction zones.
• Set up free water ATMs at major labor congregation points (e.g., chowks, transport hubs).
• Develop gender-responsive cooling strategies under smart city and AMRUT missions.

Challenges Ahead

• Heat-related urban planning still lacks legal enforceability and budgetary prioritization.
• Inter-departmental coordination on urban resilience is weak.
• Informal workers remain politically voiceless, despite constituting the bulk of India’s urban economy.

Mains Mock Question:

“Extreme heat is not just an environmental hazard but also a socio-economic threat. Critically examine the need for a legal ‘Right to Cool’ for India’s informal workforce and suggest measures for inclusive heat adaptation.”