New Delhi handles air pollution

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Amber signal on Delhi pollution 

The  Aam  Aadmi  Party  government  in  Delhi  has announced  a  slew  of  measures  to  address  the very  poor  air  quality  and  pollution  in  the  nation’s  capital.   It  is,   in  principle,   a  largely  welcome  move  that  could  push  the  needle  for  anti- pollution measures  to  be  adopted  by  other  Indian  cities  as  well. These  are  possibly  the  most  significant  steps  taken  after the  introduction  of  Compressed  Natural  Gas- powered vehicles  in  the  city  that  are  widely  accepted  as  having helped  reduce  pollution.   ( However,   it  is  debatable  if  they will  together  have  the  kind  of  effect  the  CNG  shift  had.) The  benefits  of  this  emphasis  by  the  government  on  regulations  to  address  the  city’s  alarming  air  pollution  levels will  depend  on  the  manner  of  implementation  as  well  as other  concomitant  actions.   The  announced  measures  include  the  closing  down  of  two  thermal  power  plants, pushing  the  entry  time  of  trucks  into  the  city  late  into  the night,   the  advancing  of  the  cut- off  date  for  Euro- VI  emission  norms,   among  others.   But  the  proposal  that  has  predictably  received  the  most  attention  is  the  one  on  regulating  private  vehicle  use  by  means  of  licence  plate restrictions.   These  curbs,   that  are  to  be  implemented temporarily  from  January  1,   2016,   will  allow  private  fourwheelers  and  two- wheelers  access  to  Delhi’s  roads  only on  alternate  dates  based  on  even/ odd  licence  plate  numbers.   Cities  such  as  Bogota,   Beijing,   Mexico  City  and  Paris  have  implemented  such  restrictions  in  the  past, amongst  other  reforms  to  decongest  vehicle  traffic  and  to reduce  air  pollution  through  expanding  public  transport and  zoning  certain  areas  as  “ low  emissions  only”.

Licence  plate  restrictions  by  themselves  are  somewhat problematic:   all  private  vehicles  are  treated  equally,   irrespective  of  their  purpose  and  the  fuel  they  use.   To  mitigate  this,   the  Delhi  government  has  relaxed  the  restrictions  in  the  case  of  emergency  use.   Other  exceptions such  as  car- pooling  by  multiple  commuters  should  have also  been  considered.   The  larger  point  is  that,   without  a concomitant  expansion  and  improvement  in  public transport,   the  introduction  of  licence  plate  restrictions could  only  have  a  limiting  effect.   The  state  of  public transport  in  Delhi  is  relatively  better  than  in  most  metropolitan  cities  in  the  country,   with  the  capital  enjoying  a privileged  position  in  the  fiscal  scheme  of  things.   But  despite  that,   the  public  transport  system  is  still  not  fully equipped  to  handle  the  consequent  increase  in  the  number  of  commuters  that  could  possibly  occur  due  to  the  restrictions  in  place.   Easing  and  expanding  public  transport  must  be  the  Delhi  government’s  priority.   The government  had  recently  discontinued  the  Bus  Rapid Transit  System  —   instead  of  addressing  its  design  problems  and  furthering  its  intended  purpose  of  decongesting  routes  for  public  transport  and  enticing  private  vehicle  users  to  shift.   The  licensing  regulations  must  be  part of  a  package  of  well- sequenced  and  thought- out  steps  if they  are  to  be  more  than  a  traffic  decongestion  measure.