Polluted Delhi Air, Diesel Vehicles and Destroying a Horcrux

If Delhi’s air quality has to to be improved, older vehicles need to move off the road.

The worst fallout of the Volkswagen fracas was the diversion from real reasons behind emissions and pollution to the mistaken notion that diesel is the dirtier fuel. This in turn led to the ban on registration of new diesel vehicles having engine capacity greater than 2000 cc in Delhi. Sentiment doesn’t serve scientific solutions well.

Let’s first assume that automobiles are indeed the cause of the air quality problem in Delhi. Consider this – all new vehicles, irrespective of the fuel they consume, are compliant with the currently permitted emissions. While the emission levels of older vehicles built to earlier standards are much higher.

If the air quality has to be improved, the older vehicles need to move off the road. Also, consider this, the emissions of heavy commercial vehicles are the highest and cumulative emissions of two-wheelers are higher than cumulative emissions of cars. Clearly there is a pecking order, which, if followed, could have a positive effect on air quality.

The current ban on registering new diesel vehicles having engines larger than 2000 cc is therefore baffling. The good thing is that it is a three-month experiment, and a proper study of the data in that period will lead to more informed, better decision making. These three months will spur conversations, get facts on the table and the hardship of the companies making the affected vehicles will be the cost incurred for greater good in the long run.

Replacing Old with New

The sight of overloaded commercial vehicles struggling to move forward on gentle inclines is something Indian drivers are immune to. New, powerful, fuel-efficient trucks would get the economy rolling at a good pace, never mind the inclines! The best automobile related solution stares us in the face – get the older, most polluting vehicles replaced by newer, fuel efficient, more powerful yet low emission alternatives.

In the aftermath of the economic depression in the last decade, the United States Government ran a “Cash for Clunkers” program to replace older vehicles with newer ones. At that time it was an effort to spur industrial growth and create jobs.

If a similar programme were to be initiated by the Indian Government, even if it is only for trucks and commercial vehicles, it would benefit the nation immensely. The issue of air pollution would be addressed better and we would get the added benefits of industrial growth and job creation. All of which are desperately needed by India.

The innumerable two wheelers on Delhi streets are a contributor to worsening air quality and thousands of new two wheelers are getting registered every day. It is tougher do deal with them because there are no affordable, clean personal vehicle alternatives for two-wheelers.

The alternatives lie in the public transportation space and even Delhi, with India’s best rapid transit network and large number of buses, is not prepared to handle a city without two-wheelers. But the air quality problem in Delhi needs a solution, so what can we do?

Beyond Odd-Even

Dust and the impact of crop residue burnt in distant agricultural fields have the greatest impact on Delhi’s air quality. “Aandhi” or dust storms are typical in north India. Getting construction sites to follow methods by which dust does not fly can have some impact but a lot more would be needed to make a difference.

Extensive urban and highway landscaping as in countries like the United States is another possibility but we would still be left trying to deal with dust from agricultural fields prior to sowing and post-harvest.

A large program to collect post-harvest residue to generate energy or make bio-fertiliser can help us meet our environmental commitments to the world and also improve Delhi’s air quality. An effective solution will definitely need to be a multi-pronged one.

The odd-even experiment in Delhi showed that tackling air quality needed more than reducing vehicles on road. While vehicles must become better and electric vehicles must be made viable, the solution to Delhi’s air quality problem cannot be restricted to actions within the boundaries of Delhi. In that sense making Delhi’s air clean is almost like destroying a horcrux.

(Anirban Ghosh is the Vice-President of Sustainability in Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.)

Disclosure: Mahindra & Mahindra is impacted by the Court’s order earlier in December banning registration of diesel SUVs in Delhi till 31 March 2016.