Ways to Improve Air Quality in Delhi
In its recent report on Delhi’s pollution, the CAG has put the entire blame on the authorities for turning the capital city into a deadly gas chamber.
- In its recent report on Delhi’s pollution, the Comptroller
& Auditor General (CAG) has put the entire blame on the authorities for
turning the capital city into a deadly gas chamber. In the said report, CAG has
categorically marked major policy gaps, weak enforcement and poor coordination
among agencies as the reasons behind the poor air quality of the national
capital territory. It has also mentioned that measures to prevent vehicular
pollution have never been implemented properly; rather it had hinted at a
deep-rooted conspiracy in allowing old and polluting vehicles to ply on Delhi
roads. Mentioning about glaring mistakes in fight against pollution, the report
has claimed that over 1.08 lakh vehicles have managed to get pollution under
control (PUC) certificates despite that fact that those vehicles were emitting
carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons beyond permissible limits, besides, multiple
vehicles received PUC within minutes of each other. These findings clearly
indicate wrong doings and under the table deals between the vehicle owners and
the officials concerned. At the same time, it also questions the credibility of
the certification process.
- Delhi’s air could be much cleaner if the authorities didn’t
adopt an ostrich-like approach towards these menaces despite receiving numerous
complaints about the wrong-doings by a section of government officials, putting
the life of crores of people in Delhi at risk. As the matter was related to
public health, the government of the day could have taken effective remedial
steps allowing the people to breathe in fresh air. As it had decided otherwise,
the people living in the national capital have no other options but to live
with various pulmonary diseases. The situation in the city becomes unbearable
every now and then as the city gets engulfed with thick smog due to falling
wind speed.
- The situation could easily be avoided if the city’s
transport authority had deregistered vehicles with the expiry of their life
span. The report provides an alarming picture as it is indicative of the fact
that lakhs of polluting vehicles are still moving on the Delhi roads every day,
endangering the people’s life.
- With the report in hand, it will not be wrong to expect the
authorities to take immediate steps to plug the loopholes mentioned in the CAG
report. First and foremost, it should identify those officials who had allowed
the polluting vehicles to ply on roads and punish them according to the law to
prevent recurrences of such acts. Secondly, policies regarding clearing air
from pollutants should be followed properly as CAG report has found that
despite the Supreme Court’s order of constructing two inter-state bus
terminuses in the southwest and north entry points of the city to prevent
diesel vehicles from entering Delhi, no such bus terminus has come up at Dwarka
or Narela, places identified by the authorities for this purpose. Thirdly, the
people should be encouraged to use mass transport more, instead of using
personal vehicles. Finally, as the report has indicated that Delhi is polluted
because of a systematic failure of the regulatory framework, it is time to put
the house in order.
