Pollution Problem in Delhi NCR

If you thought things are much better these days, NYTimes has bad news for you. Beijing’s Bad Air Would Be Step Up for Smoggy Delhi - NYTimes.com

Despite Beijing’s widespread reputation of having some of the most polluted air of any major city in the world, an examination of daily pollution figures collected from both cities suggests that New Delhi’s air is more laden with dangerous small particles of pollution, more often, than Beijing’s. Lately, a very bad air day in Beijing is about an average one in New Delhi.But for the first three weeks of this year, New Delhi’s average daily peak reading of fine particulate matter from Punjabi Bagh, a monitor whose readings are often below those of other city and independent monitors, was 473, more than twice as high as the average of 227 in Beijing. By the time pollution breached 500 in Beijing for the first time on the night of Jan. 15, Delhi had already had eight such days. Indeed, only once in three weeks did New Delhi’s daily peak value of fine particles fall below 300, a level more than 12 times the exposure limit recommended by the World Health Organization.“It’s always puzzled me that the focus is always on China and not India,” said Dr. Angel Hsu, director of the environmental performance measurement program at the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy. “China has realized that it can’t hide behind its usual opacity, whereas India gets no pressure to release better data. So there simply isn’t good public data on India like there is for China.”

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Odd And Even Number Vehicles to be Allowed in Delhi on Alternate Days

Helplines for Odd-Even Trial :
011 42400400
011 41400400

List of exempted vehicles 😀

1. Vehicles of the President of India
2. Vehicles of the Vice President
3. Vehicles of the Prime Minister
4. Vehicles of the Governors of States
5. Vehicles of the Chief Justice of India
6. Vehicle of the Speaker of Lok Sabha
7. Vehicles of the Ministers of the Union
8. Vehicles of the Leaders of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha
9. Vehicles of the Chief Ministers of States and Union Territories except Chief Minister of Delhi
10. Vehicles of the Judges of Supreme Court
11. Vehicle of the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha
12. Vehicle of the Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha
13. Vehicles of the Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories
14. Vehicles of the judges of Delhi High Court
15. Vehicles of the Lokayukta
16. Emergency Vehicles i.e. ambulance, fire brigade and hospital, prison and hearse vehicles
17. Enforcement vehicles i.e. vehicles of Police, Transport Department, vehicles authorised by the Divisional Commissioner GNCTD, paramilitary forces etc.
18. Vehicles bearing Ministry of Defence number plates
19. Vehicles which are having a pilot/escort
20. Vehicles of SPG protectees
21. Embassy vehicles bearing CD numbers
22. Compressed Natural Gas-driven vehicles (these vehicles should prominently display sticker 'CNG Vehicle' on the front windscreen-issued by Indraprastha Gas Ltd.), Electric Vehicles, Hybrid Vehicles
23. Vehicles being used for medical emergencies (will be trust based)
24. Women only vehicles
25. Vehicles driven/occupied by handicapped persons.

I read many years ago that perhaps China has this system, of allowing odd/even digit vehicles on roads alternate days.
I think people in Delhi are rich enough to buy 2 cars with odd and even numbers 😀

That's the thing. This step only works when you have a decent public transport and people cannot just buy cars whenever they want to buy one.
Delhi has to make it mandatory for people interested in buying cars to prove that they have parking space to park that car in the first place. You cannot just ban people from driving around their cars before establishing a proper infrastructure in place to support that ban.
This is jugaadu style of governance. Sheer idiocy.

Which movie had the cars where hero presses a button on his dashboard and the number plate rotated to switch to another number? Transporter? Bond? Could become a new hot item to install in your car in Delhi 😀

I like the move. No harm in trying.

Even if houses have two cars normally trend is that 1 car for working person (mostly husband) other car for house.

Now lets say someone wants to go some place - normally they will think - "oh I have spare car - I will go by it"

But now if options are limited - they will think - "Oh this car is going - I better go in that car as I can not take my car out today".

Ok its not going to make 50% difference but even 10-15% reduction will be great.

And if it does not work - odd-even rule can be withdrawn any day.

What they need to do is escalate the construction of bypass that negates the need for commercial vehicles to pass through Delhi. That alone would very likely reduce traffic in Delhi by 10-20%. If I have to go to Panipat, Karnal, Chandigarh, Punjab I have to travel across Delhi.

What is going to happen to autorickshaws? Exempt? Why? Tell them to sit at home for half the month. Roadways buses? Private buses? Chartered buses? Commercial vehicles bringing in vegetables and other daily need items?

Stupidity of the highest order.With every passing day the Delhi Govt is becoming ridiculous.Chalo badhai ho Delhi walon.

Btw how long before this is challenged in a court of law?

amish said:

I like the move. No harm in trying.

Even if houses have two cars normally trend is that 1 car for working person (mostly husband) other car for house.

Now lets say someone wants to go some place - normally they will think - "oh I have spare car - I will go by it"

But now if options are limited - they will think - "Oh this car is going - I better go in that car as I can not take my car out today".

Ok its not going to make 50% difference but even 10-15% reduction will be great.

And if it does not work - odd-even rule can be withdrawn any day.

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What next?The govt to decide how many lights or AC i can use to conserve energy?Or how many buckets of water i can use to conserve Water?

Ban vehicles over 15 yrs - problem
Ban odd / even numbers alternate days - problem
Ban trucks / public transport - insufficient transportation

Car-free day - what a joke

Pollution increasing - blame Government - its doing nothing - its trying nothing.

People wanted change - Government is bringing CHANGE.

It may look drastic but its NOT dumb - its trying ways - no harm in trying.

"Bhai try to krne do." - "You will come to know in 1 month"

If its not resolving issue as expected and causing inconvenience - it takes just one day to LIFT THE BAN.

I agree that strict measure is needed by govt to restrict vehicles on roads which would reduce traffic jams and pollution. As I mentioned example of China above (which I am not sure), but I surely know that London has congestion tax which every vehicle has to pay if it has to enter certian areas of city. Some people prefer to pay tax and enter with their vehicle, some can park their vehicles outside that area and travel inside city by public transport. Park-and-Ride facility is provided for such people who don't want to enter city with their vehicles. But all this is possible because London has very good public transport. I doubt if any of Indian city has efficient public transport which can accomodate population traveling daily.

SVK said:

I agree that strict measure is needed by govt to restrict vehicles on roads which would reduce traffic jams and pollution. As I mentioned example of China above (which I am not sure), but I surely know that London has congestion tax which every vehicle has to pay if it has to enter certian areas of city. Some people prefer to pay tax and enter with their vehicle, some can park their vehicles outside that area and travel inside city by public transport. Park-and-Ride facility is provided for such people who don't want to enter city with their vehicles. But all this is possible because London has very good public transport. I doubt if any of Indian city has efficient public transport which can accomodate population traveling daily.

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I have no issues if Delhi govt imposes congestion tax,but before doing that they must have a efficient public transport system.In London if yyou have to enter CBD you have to pay congestion tax,but you can very well use the public transport.

Ban vehicles over 15 yrs - problem

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Afaik the Central govt,the SC and everyone else has supported it.Ofcourse the affected people will try to scupper the move.

Ban odd / even numbers alternate days - problem

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Ofcourse you cannot tell people when they should be able to take out their car.They paid taxes to run that car whenever they wish.

Ban trucks / public transport - insufficient transportation

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Ban trucks or limit their movement in Delhi.Ban any old buses.

Car-free day - what a joke

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Ofcourse that is a joke.

Pollution increasing - blame Government - its doing nothing - its trying nothing.

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Yes trying ridiculous things which look like a walking joke.

People wanted change - Government is bringing CHANGE.

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Its like saying,people wanted poverty eradication,so stop poor people from reproducing and let them die without medical help.Poverty eradicated.

It may look drastic but its NOT dumb - its trying ways - no harm in trying.

"Bhai try to krne do." - "You will come to know in 1 month"

If its not resolving issue as expected and causing inconvenience - it takes just one day to LIFT THE BAN.

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Its not dumb.Its outright stupidity.Try to karne do?Mazak hai kya?Is this a govt running a city of 100mn people or some kind of joke?Ye try kar lete hai,wo try kar lete hai,nahi hua to public ko danda hoga,hamein kya hai.Mazak bana rakha hai logon ka.