BBC Delhi Correspondent Soutik Biswas reports on the aftermath and impact of the odd-even policy — on traffic, air quality, behavioral patterns, etc. — and the institutional changes and reforms needed to make a difference.
“At its heart, it is mainly a symptom of shambolic urban planning and the inability of the government to deliver basic and essential services to its people.
As Sarath Guttikunda, who heads an independent research group, UrbanEmissions.Info says, lack of power supply leads to use of diesel generators, lack of public transport leads to higher demand for private vehicles, and the lack of uncluttered and clean sidewalks and cycle paths lead to more motorised transport.
Bad traffic management and on the road parking leads to more congestion. Garbage gets burnt because it simply doesn’t get picked up in the first place. Builders are not even pushed to use bowsers to check construction dust. Introducing natural gas, upgrading fuel standards, and pushing out polluting industries will fetch short-term gains – Delhi is living proof of this.
Delhi – and India – needs institutional change to fight air pollution. Neither Mr Kejriwal, who rules Delhi, nor Narendra Modi, who rules India, have shown very little stomach for such reform.” BBC News.Read it on delhiair.org.
Was Delhi’s car-rationing trail a publicity stunt?
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