Delhi plans to even the odds of pollution this year again

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government will reintroduce the car-rationing, ‘odd-even’ scheme in the November 4-15 period to combat the expected rise in air pollution after Diwali as farmers burn crop residue in Haryana and Punjab. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the scheme had been effective in 2016, although some studies suggested it didn’t seem to have had too much of an impact.
Kejriwal said that the measure would be implemented amid the onset of winter as part of a sevenpoint Parali Pradushan (emissions from stubble burning) action plan that also includes distribution of anti-pollution masks as well as mechanised sweeping and sprinkling of water on the roads to keep the dust down. The agenda includes planting of trees and special plans for 12 pollution hot spots in the city. Odd-even was last implemented in January and April 2016. During the period, cars with odd and even registration numbers can only be used on alternate days. The chief minister had said earlier that the state government had lowered air pollution levels by nearly 25% in the past four years.

But the odd-even scheme is an “emergency measure”, he said. “It cannot be implemented for too long. Details will be clarified and laid out in the next few days.”

Top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders criticised Kejriwal for what they said was a poll ploy. Union roads minister Nitin Gadkari said that there was “no need” for oddeven in Delhi. "The new ring road we have built is helping reduce pollution in Delhi to a certain extent,” he said. “Besides, my ministry is pursuing road works of about Rs 50,000 crore. Cleaning of Yamuna and other works to curb pollution are also underway.”

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari and party MP Meenakshi Lekhi were among those who attacked the scheme. “The main cause of pollution are trucks and the government has done nothing about it so far,” Lekhi said.

Officials said modalities will be considered closer to November, depending on the quality of air. Last time, women drivers and two-wheelers were exempted, as were commercial vehicles such as cabs. Oddeven is already part of the graded response action plan (GRAP) devised by the Central Pollution Control Board and is to be implemented for private vehicles when the pollution level persists at ‘severe plus’ for 48 hours or more.

Kejriwal said the decision followed a week-long exercise to gather suggestions on tackling winter air pollution. “We received nearly 1,200 suggestions from citizens, experts, RWAs (resident welfare associations) and think tanks from Chicago and Harvard,” he said.

“Odd-even is the best way to tackle it on a short-term basis,” said a senior government official who is part of the team tasked with drawing up the plans.

Kejriwal had met experts from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) and Washington-based World Resources Institute (WRI) on September 12 as part of consultations. The government cited a study by EPIC that showed pollution dipped 14-16% during the January 2016 edition of odd-even, when it was first implemented in response to the smog that had engulfed the city. “Our April 2016 edition of the odd-even scheme had not worked, but odd-even is the best way to tackle vehicular pollution in the winter months ahead and we are bringing it in as per the feedback we received from the consultations,” the official said.



The Delhi government will also buy 5-6 million “best quality” N-95 anti-pollution masks and distribute these among the people in October, he said.

Kejriwal said the government will soon announce its bus aggregator and e-vehicle policy as part of “long-term” measures to tackle pollution. “We will also invite corporates to invest in luxury buses.” He said that the government will use its previous odd-even experience to check surge pricing and ensure that cab aggregators and autorickshaw drivers do not overcharge passengers.

Anumita Roy Chowdhury of the Centre for Science (CSE) was sceptical about the scheme’s benefits unless enforced rigorously. “There was little improvement in air quality and congestion (last time), so it only aims at providing international publicity,” she said. “We will have to see how well is the enforcement as vehicular pollution is a problem.”

The Aam Aadmi Party government, which faces assembly polls in February next year, announced an anti-dengue campaign in August, saying that it had reduced cases of the disease by 85% in the past three years. In 2015, Delhi was hit by an outbreak of dengue with more than 15,000 cases and Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia were at the receiving end of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led opposition for being unable to control it.

What the studies say
*A joint IIT-IIM study conducted by atmospheric scientists found that in the first phase of the odd-even scheme (January 2016), the levels of pollution declined by 2-3%. Three areas — Najafgarh, Shalimar Bagh and Greater Kailash — witnessed an 8-10% drop in pollution due to the scheme.

* In a recent study in the Economic and Political Weekly, Shuvabrata Chakraborty and Samir K Srivastava concluded that the scheme had not worked in 2016 because it kept commercial vehicles out of its preview and they are the main contributors to air pollution in Delhi.