NEW DELHI: There is now mounting evidence that Delhi's air quality is comparable to, if not worse than, Beijing's notoriously poor air quality. But, the second-generation action plan for Delhi's pollution—drafted to deal with the deteriorating air quality after CNG introduction—doesn't seem to have been finalized almost two years after it was prepared. All the government departments are still to give their response, and seem to be in no hurry to finalize the plan.
The only non-government member of the drafting committee, Anumita Roychowdhury of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), says the plan was with the chief secretary before the new AAP government took over. "I don't know why the plan has not been finalized. The absence of any plan to deal with severe air pollution in Delhi would obviously give Beijing a lead in countering the problem," she says.
The action plan has a number of policies that can help improve the air quality in Delhi. For instance, the Delhi government will ask the Centre to introduce Euro V and VI emission norms early to reduce particulate and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Currently, Delhi has Euro IV norms. Other important features are a parking policy, including parking tariff, pedestrian facilities, expansion of CNG and a total upgrade of public transport.
"Apart from a few more buses, Metro lines and cycle tracks around the CWG venues, Delhi has done nothing since 2008. In contrast, Beijing already has Euro 5 norms; it has about 20,000 buses, light rail and metro, a cap on the number of cars, besides pollution emergency measures and vapour recovery systems at petrol pumps. They are clearly more aggressive and sophisticated," added Anumita.
Sandeep Mishra, member secretary of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), confirmed the suspicion. "There is no progress yet. The plan was with various government departments that had to give their comments," he said. DPCC had contested the claim that Delhi's air quality is poorer than that of Beijing by releasing data monitored by them. However, the data also pointed to very high peaks in PM10 (coarse particles) and PM2.5 (fine, respirable particles), about three to five times the standard.
Experts, however, are unsure if a 'silver bullet' like CNG can bring immediate relief. They recommend a number of steps. "Delhi's air quality is bad and something needs to be done. I think there is no point in drawing comparisons with Beijing. We can immediately focus on burning of waste and biomass across the city. Also, we have a quarter of the buses needed. Bus service should be ramped up and made reliable and comfortable. It's undemocratic to ask people to stop using cars completely," said Sarath Guttikunda, director of urbanemissions.info.
Guttikunda's research shows that pollution from industries in Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Janakpuri as well as brick kilns in Sohna, Ghaziabad and other neighbouring towns, wreaks havoc on Delhi's air. "We also need curbs on emissions from diesel generator sets and brick kilns fired by coal," he said.
