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SOURCES OF AIR POLLUTION are many and diverse. But none are as lethal as vehicles, as they are responsible for very high exposure. Vehicular emissions take place in the breathing zone of people. “So those who live or work in close proximity to heavily-travelled roadways are subject to high levels of exposure”, say experts. And now there are plenty of studies to show constant exposure to auto exhausts causes severe health damages. Motor vehicles emit some of the deadliest cancer producing compounds. They also induce chronic and acute respiratory disorders. DEATHLY TRAPS In the global scenario, some of the worst cases of outdoor air pollution are now found in Indian cities, including the medium-sized and smaller towns. Urban air here is a cocktail of particulates and gaseous products, including nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxides (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), benzene, ozone (O3), a range of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and a variety of volatile organic compounds. But the overriding fear is concerning the chillingly high levels of particulate matter (PM), especially of size less than 10 micron (PM10), detected in the air. These finer particles, which are generated by combustion of fuels, travel deep into the lungs. Owing to their innate chemical properties and size, they can kill even at lower concentrations. No wonder during the past few years, people here have been desperately looking out for tools to assess the problem and to find ways to combat the menace.
Yet, cutting pollution from vehicles is proving to be the toughest part of the pollution control challenge. Why? Interestingly, India began regulating vehicular emissions in 1991, much before other Asian countries had even begun the process. But then it fell behind, slowly losing speed even as the number of vehicles in the Indian roads skyrocketed, and pollution levels scaled unprecedented heights. Held back by a reluctant automobile industry, that fought hard to keep the standards lax, it adopted the Euro I standards as late as 2000—eight years after Europe!
Prodded repeatedly by the Supreme Court to introduce stronger regulations, the government finally came up with the Auto Fuel Policy in 2003. As of now, only 11 cities have implemented Euro III, while the rest of the country has only moved to Euro II. The goal is to nudge the 11 to adopt Euro IV by 2010, as the others reach the Euro III mark. The process is further slowed down by the government-owned refineries. There is a stubborn resistance from them to produce cleaner fuels needed to run the cleaner, less polluting vehicles. The diesel menace But, is India really making a whole-hearted attempt to shift to cleaner vehicle technologies? Why then is it favouring diesel over petrol? Diesel engines do have some attractive features. They are more fuel-efficient than petrol engines, deriving more energy per unit of fuel used. So till recently, they used to dominate the heavy-duty vehicles sector. But now, taking over the personal car segment. Analysts predict that diesel car sales will grow by almost 40-50 per cent by 2010. Reinventing Mobility We must understand that mobility, not more cars, is the need of the day. It is clear India will have to re-invent what the world understands as the driver of economy – not the cheapest, smallest, biggest or most fanciful car but the cheapest, cleanest, most affordable and comfortable way of travelling. Missing the point The real problem is not with the cars. It is with the way the government manages the transport system in cities. One glaring example is the current taxation policy. Instead of offering incentives to encourage bus transport, our government imposes higher taxes on buses compared to cars. In Delhi, a car pays only Rs 300 a year as tax, while a bus is charged more than Rs 13,000 – roughly 43 times more than a car! It is pretty clear that our policy makers do not take into account the social, health and environmental costs of motorisation. Why else would they continue with this distorted system that ends up taxing the bus, which moves the largest numbers of people in our city, more than the car, which drives few people but hogs valuable road space?
Doing away with diesel Diesel costs less than petrol, so auto companies are busy expanding their polluting diesel car fleet. This spells disaster. How? Let’s look at Delhi. It set an example to the rest of the country five years ago by saying no to diesel buses, and forcing the government to switch to the cleaner Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). But now, air pollution in the capital is reaching critical levels again. Why? Because a few thousand CNG-run buses cannot fix the damage being done by a few million diesel-run personal cars! The Delhi cabinet has now decided to introduce an Environment Cess on diesel at the rate of 25 paise per litre. For starters, the cess will be imposed on diesel-run commercial vehicles. The cost of diesel per litre is the lowest in Delhi. With the money collected as cess, the government plans to set up a fund called the Environment Cess Fund to help the introduction of clean air policy. All other pollution infested urban centres must either go the Delhi-way, or find a suitable alternative.
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