New Delhi: With air pollution reaching alarming levels earlier this month, chairman of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, Bhure Lal had flagged the issue of ‘Comprehensive action plan (CAP) for air pollution control in Delhi and NCR’ not being implemented in the region.
A closer look at the CAP reveals that while a majority of the proposals and suggestions have been resolved or agreed upon, some key ones like those relating to procurement of buses, creation of parking space for them and use of fuel and emission norms are stuck with the authorities concerned or in courts.
In the letter to member secretary of the Centre Pollution Control Board and chair of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Task Force, Lal had as an emergency measure stated that “the only option is to look at either a complete ban on all private vehicles, other than CNG”. He had further noted that otherwise, curbs on plying of vehicles by placing restrictions through number plates could be considered.
While this aspect of Lal’s concern was highlighted, what went rather unnoticed was his emphasis on CAP. He had written that the Comprehensive Action Plan, “which is now notified, but still nowhere close to implementation, includes time-bound action on public transport.”
In fact, the letter had also pointed out that “any restriction on plying of private vehicles, without adequate public transport creates huge inconvenience to people”. It had added that “it is for this reason that EPCA for the past many years has stressed on the need for augmentation of public transport, not just in Delhi but in the NCR region.”
Significant progress in air quality monitoring
It is pertinent to note that the Comprehensive Action Plan had several components. It had provisions for air quality monitoring, in which significant progress has been made.
The plan had suggested that the Delhi Pollution Control Committee set up 20 more real-time monitoring stations, which has been done.
It had also suggested enforcing GRAP as directed by the Supreme Court and notified by the environment ministry. This measure is also working and has helped bring down pollution in the past few years.
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Another suggestion had pertained to undertaking satellite-based monitoring and tracking and enforcing agriculture waste burning. While the monitoring has taken place, the authorities failed to convince the farmers in Punjab and Haryana to not resort to crop burning.
CAP has suggested detailed action to curb vehicular pollution
The comprehensive plan had also envisaged action for reducing vehicular emissions which involved changes in emission and fuel quality norms for new vehicles. These came into force in April 2017. Reduction in diesel use and expansion of CNG programme across the NCR has also been going on. A large number of battery-operated vehicles have also been introduced as part of the plan.
However, while Delhi remains the only city in the country to have an all-CNG public bus transport system, it has failed to expand it enough. While radio cabs and entry of battery-operated rickshaws have helped in keeping the air clean, more needs to be done.
The CAP had suggested ways for controlling pollution by on-road vehicles through auditing of pollution under control (PUC) certification centres and tightening of PUC norms for old vehicles. It had also suggested a technological leap by installation of on-board diagnostic systems in new vehicles for inspection. However, a further direction in this matter is awaited.
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The plan had further suggested reduction in vehicular congestion in Delhi-NCR and advised diverting of truck traffic not bound for Delhi. This has now started with the opening of the eastern and western peripheral expressways. The installation of radio frequency identification chips was also suggested but that has not been implemented properly.
Two decades after SC demanded increase in buses, number has almost halved
Another area in which the authorities have lagged has been the improvement in bus numbers and services. The Supreme Court had in 1998 directed that Delhi government increase the bus strength to 10,000. However, while the population of the city has increased by about 50% since then, the bus strength in 2018 – instead of increasing proportionately to around 15,000 – has actually come down to around 5,500.
What’s worse, the issues of purchase of new buses have gotten stuck in courts on what kind of vehicle the city needs – electric buses, low-floor buses or standard-floor buses. No priority is being placed on simply procuring the best ones available immediately and replacing them later with the ideal ones.
The procurement issue of buses appears to have fallen into the same bureaucratic and legal trap in which the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system had ended. Though BRT was launched with the aim of providing adequate road space to pedestrians and cyclists, this had reduced the space for motorised vehicles and led to congestion. As such, the project was scrapped and more such ones planned got shelved.
While Delhi Metro has taken the burden of a major share of commuters, the city quickly needs a bigger bus system to ensure that fewer people use private transport. Recently, it was highlighted in courts that adequate parking space was not available for buses. What apparently has not been pointed out is that under the Sheila Dikshit government, proposals were made to convert the bus depots into multi-storeyed buildings. That proposal should be brought back to the table so that parking space for buses can be increased manifold.
Route rationalisation of buses, the introduction of cluster bus operations and installation of GPS system in buses has already been set into motion, thus, procurement and deployment of more buses should now be a priority.