Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
India

Delhi To Restrict Vehicles On Roads To Beat Pollution

Darpan News Desk IANS, 04 Dec, 2015 01:03 PM
    To curb unbridled pollution in the national capital, the Delhi government on Friday said odd and even number vehicles will ply on alternate days in the city from January 1 - a move which drew flak far and wide.
     
    The decision, taken at a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, will not apply to CNG-driven buses, taxis and auto-rickshaws but will also cover vehicles entering Delhi from other states. 
     
    The moves comes a day after the Delhi High Court likened the national capital to a gas chamber and sought immediate action from the central and Delhi governments.
     
    The sweeping move - like the one taken in Beijing in 2013 - will apply to a large bulk of the some 90 lakh vehicles registered in Delhi, where about 1,500 new vehicles are added every day.
     
    "A city has to try something new. The measures is for the good of the people," Delhi Chief Secretary K.K. Sharma told media. 
     
    Asked how Chief Minister Kejriwal will come to office, Sharma said: "All the modalities have been worked out and there will be a review meeting on December 8." 
     
     
    He said the Delhi Transport Corporation will have to press more buses into services which could be done by hiring more vehicles. 
     
    Sharma said people have to be encouraged to use public transport, leaving the provisions of penalty unclear. 
     
    Besides, the government will shut down south Delhi's coal-based Badarpur power plant, one of the coal-based plants of the NTPC. It also said that it will move to the National Green Tribunal to shut the Dadri Power Plant in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh 
     
    A web-based app will be launched enabling residents to report about polluting vehicles burning of leaves in the capital. 
     
    Delhi's vehicular population - which cause choking jams on all weekdays - includes some 27 lakh cars. 
     
    According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the air quality of Delhi is said to be "very poor" with an air quality index of 331.
     
    When air quality index ranges between 301 and 400, the air is said to cause respiratory illness on prolonged exposure.
     
    Experts said before taking this decision there was need to strengthen public transport first. 
     
    "Implementation of this policy is going to put extreme lot of pressure on both the government and the car drivers. When we do not have a strong public transport system, how can we expect everyone to adhere to this," Vikrant Tongad, an environmentalist working with Delhi-based Social Action for Forest and Environment, asked while speaking to IANS.
     
    "What rubbish! Does the government even understand why most of the people use private vehicles? Mostly people use cars to cut the long duration in buses and also avoid the number of buses needed to change. The easier way to curb pollution was to increase public transport for all routes, which would certainly prevent people from using private vehicles," said Rajeev Snehi, a sales manager, who travels to Noida every day from south Delhi in his car.
     
     
    In October, the National Green Tribunal announced an "Environment Tax" or "Green Tax" on commercial vehicles entering the city.
     
    The Delhi High Court later ordered all private radio taxis to switch over to compressed natural gas (CNG) before March 1, 2016 if they desired to operate in the capital.
     
    NGO Greenpeace warned recently that the indoor air in Delhi was five times more polluted than it should be according to Indian standards.
     
    The WHO, however, says this is 11 times more than their prescribed level.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    7/11 Mumbai Train Blasts: 5 Convicts Get Death, Life For 7 Others

    7/11 Mumbai Train Blasts: 5 Convicts Get Death, Life For 7 Others
    Those awarded the death penalty were Kamal A. Ansari, 37; Ehtesham K. Siddiqui, 30; Faisal Attaur Rehman Sheikh, 36; Asif Khan alias Junaid, 38; Naved Hussain Khan, 30.

    7/11 Mumbai Train Blasts: 5 Convicts Get Death, Life For 7 Others

    Sikh Youths Set Aside The Religious Code, Use Turbans To Save Eight Men From Drowning

    Sikh Youths Set Aside The Religious Code, Use Turbans To Save Eight Men From Drowning
    The incident occurred on Friday when a group of youngsters from Sarrafa Bazaar had gone for Ganesha idol “visarjan” in a canal and they lost their balance to gushing water at Sular Ghaat near Sunam village.

    Sikh Youths Set Aside The Religious Code, Use Turbans To Save Eight Men From Drowning

    Radical Sikh Groups Oppose Akal Takht 'Pardon' To Dera Sacha Sauda Chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

    Radical Sikh Groups Oppose Akal Takht 'Pardon' To Dera Sacha Sauda Chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh
    Radical Sikh organisations, Dal Khalsa and Shiromani Akali Dal (Panch Pardani), held a silent protest outside the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion, to object to the pardon.

    Radical Sikh Groups Oppose Akal Takht 'Pardon' To Dera Sacha Sauda Chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

    Sports And Theatre Worlds Unite To Pay Tribute To Tenor Michael Burgess

    Sports And Theatre Worlds Unite To Pay Tribute To Tenor Michael Burgess
    The musical theatre star — who spellbound audiences as Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables" and became well-known to hockey fans for his stirring renditions of "O Canada" — died Monday after a lengthy battle with cancer.

    Sports And Theatre Worlds Unite To Pay Tribute To Tenor Michael Burgess

    Modi's Visit To Silicon Valley: Beyond The Hype Were Clear Goals

    Modi's Visit To Silicon Valley: Beyond The Hype Were Clear Goals
    All prime ministerial visits are calibrated for a specific goal, be it economic, diplomatic, political or cultural. That is true of all Indian prime ministers but it is especially true of Narendra Modi.

    Modi's Visit To Silicon Valley: Beyond The Hype Were Clear Goals

    International Trips By Indians To Rise By 45 Percent In 2015: Study

    International Trips By Indians To Rise By 45 Percent In 2015: Study
    The average number of international trips by Indians is set to increase by 45 percent in 2015, according to a study by travel site TripAdvisor.

    International Trips By Indians To Rise By 45 Percent In 2015: Study