Come winter, come the season for knee-jerk reactions. On Tuesday, the chairman of the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA), veteran bureaucrat Bhure Lal, issued the most dire warning yet on the subject of pollution. If the situation reaches really critical levels, he thundered, his Authority will have no option but to stop private vehicles from plying on the road, forcing people to move to public transport.
With Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) touching the 367 mark, barely a few points away from the severe pollution levels, such reactions are understandable. Already, 15-year-old private diesel vehicles are being confiscated in the capital on the orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), that were passed more than two years ago. But the question that needs to be asked is why so little and so late?
Typical of the way things work, there is nothing substantial done throughout the year on the pollution front until the advent of winter. Then comes a plethora of solutions, which don’t count for much. It shows that as a country, we cannot plan, think and certainly not execute.
The result of such ill-planning is going to result in unwanted deaths of innocents exposed to extreme pollution levels in the national capital and the surrounding areas, while the officialdom will be busy tweedling its thumbs. By any stretch of imagination, Lal’s very stern warning, would be difficult to implement.
It is not entirely clear either how such a plan can be enforced in a city the size of Delhi or whether the government even has resources and tools at its command to compel people to move to an alternative transport system. But the fact that such a rule exists and there are people in important positions who are even thinking on those lines, reveals how desperate the situation is.
On Monday, the Supreme Court in a very significant order barred the use of 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles in the National Capital Region (NCR). It told officials to impound such vehicles if they were found violating the court order. That the court has taken EPCA’s suggestions seriously on the private and public vehicle ban order, Lal’s proposal has an ominous ring to it.
Currently, there is no mechanism for citizens to report violations. Under apex court orders, aggrieved denizens of Delhi will get the much-needed platform to air their grievances and enforcement agencies their identified cases to act upon.
At the moment, the Central Pollution Control Board has an app, which is not interactive but only provides air quality index. But things are fast reaching the point of no-return. There are at least 10 Delhi areas that have already recorded severe pollution levels.
In NCR, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurugram, Noida and Greater Noida have all recorded severe pollution levels. Authorities believe the worst is yet to come, following Diwali. Extreme conditions require extreme solutions and Delhi and NCR appear to be headed towards that.
