Delhi needs to urgently improve the fuel quality of vehicles and upgrade their emission technology if it wants to make the ambient air breathable, experts said. Sumit Sharma, a fellow with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and an expert on air pollution, said, "CNG fuel and Metro could have brought particulate matter (PM) concentrations down but fuel quality for other activities remains inferior.
Delhi still relies on Bharat Stage-IV norms whereas the world has moved to Euro 5 and 6 standards." According to Sharma, the Auto Fuel Policy 2002 had the mandate of bringing 13 cities under BS-IV norms and the rest under BS-III by 2010. BS-IV is the equivalent of Euro 4.
"We have lost four years since then and the future roadmap has still not been prepared. Only 22 cities adhere to BS-IV norms, while other cities are still using BS-III fuels," he said. The high particulate matter in Delhi is not attributed only to factors within the National Capital but also to pollutants from Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad. "NCR needs a common plan and an infrastructure revamp. Public transport has to be made comfortable," Sharma said.
Experts also blamed the government for its lackadaisical attitude towards conserving the environment in the Capital. Ravi Agarwal, director of Toxic Links, said while Delhi had a rich ecology of water systems, forests, a river and diverse biodiversity of bird life, they have been poisoned, encroached and dumped upon. "Delhi needs hard decisions to protect its environment from pollution and encroachments. Economic growth needs to be balanced with ecological concerns," he said.
Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director at the CSE, said: "We need urgent action at both the national and city level to meet clean air standards in a time-bound manner. The national government should make it mandatory for cities to meet clean air standards in a time-bound manner. Frame incentives and penalties to ensure enforcement."
