New Delhi: Delhi has the distinction of having the highest vehicular population among the metros. However, the actual daily number of the roads is much higher than the figure of 88 lakh that is toted out as the number of cars in the capital. This is because there is a massive daily influx of passenger and commercial vehicles from other parts of the National Capital Region.
In fact, a new Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) survey has found that the number of vehicles entering Delhi daily is almost as many as those that are registered in the city every year. The video recorded survey showed an average of 3.7 lakh cars and 1.27 two-wheelers entering the city every day. If all 124 entry points to the capital were considered, the number could be as high as 5.65 lakh. CSErecalled that the Economic Survey of Delhi for 2014-15 had found 5.69 lakh vehicles were registered in Delhi that year, of which cars and SUVs accounted for 1.65 lakh vehicles.
The study was conducted in June 2015 through 24-hour video recording of all categories of vehicles entering and exiting Delhi at nine entry points. These included Kundli border on NH1; Tikri border on NH10; Rajokri on NH8; Badarpur on NH2; KalindiKunj; two points at Ghazipur border on NH24; and two points at Shahdara border on NH-19.
The survey, released to mark the World Environment Day on June 5, said that the effort to reduce the number of trucks entering the city by imposing an environmental compensation charge seemed to have been negated by the large number of passenger vehicles coming to Delhi.
"Delhi's battle against pollution, congestion and energy guzzling can get more difficult if its own explosive motorisation gets further aggravated by the huge daily influx of vehicles from outside," said AnumitaRoychowdhury, executive director, CSE. "This new analysis reconfirms that ineffective public policy on public transport connectivity is increasing dependence on personal vehicles, leading to enormouspollution and ill-health in Delhi-NCR."
She also pointed out that an equal number of vehicles went out of Delhi daily, contributing to pollution in the ncr towns as well.
Researchers found that of the approximately four lakh cars entering the city, 55% were cars, 11% SUVs and 27% were two-wheelers. The number of two-wheeler entering the city - around 1.65 lakh from all entry points - is 43% of all new two-wheelers registered in 2014-15.
CSE highlighted the fact that cars driving into Delhi had the highest per capita CO{-2} emissions at nearly 3,031 grams/km, followed by SUVs at 1,919 gm/km. The buses crossing the border had the smallest CO{-2} footprint at 539 gm/km. "Against this trend, how will Delhi-NCR participate in India's commitment of an intended national determined contribution of reducing energy intensity by 35% by 2030?" wondered the green body.
The survey also found that the total number of diesel cars, taxis and SUVs entering Delhi are 2.5 times the total registration of diesel vehicles in the city in 2014-15. "Among all the fuels used in Delhi, diesel still remains the highest. To that is added the daily influx of diesel vehicles that are higher than the local fleet," CSE said in its statement.
Now wonder, the organisation said, lung cancer incidence in the city has increased by over 33.3 % since the middle of the last decade. It warned that growing motorisation and dieselisation were continuously adding to the toxic risk in Delhi where the National Cancer Registry Programme showed the highest increase in lung cancer risk among all metro cities.
