The EPCA has already proposed stopping the use of diesel-powered generators, brick kilns and halt the burning of garbage between the 1st and 10th of November. Bhure Lal, Chairman, EPCA stated, "Let us hope the air pollution situation in Delhi doesn't deteriorate but if it turns out to be an emergency, we will have to stop the use of private transport." According to the data shared by the Central Pollution Control Board, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi has reached a ‘severe' level. Parts of Delhi have recorded 469 units of poisonous particulate matter on Tuesday. According to the AQI classification; 0 to 50 is ‘Good', 51 to 100 is ‘Satisfactory', 101 to 200 is ‘moderate', 201 to 300 is ‘Poor', 301 to 400 is ‘Very Poor' and 401 to 500 is ‘Severe'. The state government expects the smog levels to deteriorate further, with the festival of Diwali right around the corner. People are expected to burst crackers, which will increase pollution levels further. The smog in New Delhi is an annual affair with farmers from the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana burning the crop residue, ahead of the arrival of winter. However, both states are working to reduce the crop burning while the Delhi government itself works on intensifying their efforts as well. Thoughts On The Delhi Air Pollution The air pollution levels in New Delhi has been deteriorating day-by-day. Just last week the AQI recorded 299.4 units of particulate matter (pm) while this week that has increased to 469 pm. The government is using every possible measure to curb pollution in the city. However, with the festival of Diwali around the corner, the levels are expected to increase during the coming days.<doc-sep>The EPCA, in a press statement issued on Wednesday, further confirmed it’s stand and said that the measure to reduce pollution would be implemented whenever there is urgent requirement to control air pollution. As the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) decided to ban plying of all private vehicles to control further deterioration of air quality in the National Capital, Delhi government said that it has not been consulted by the Supreme Court-mandated body about any such decision. “We have received no such communication about any decision by the EPCA to ban plying of private vehicles in Delhi," said Naginder Sharma, who is the media advisor to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal when asked about the government’s reaction on the latest development. Dr Bhure Lal, the chairman of the EPCA, on Tuesday told the media that the body is contemplating over the decision to ban plying of private vehicles in Delhi. ANI quoted him as saying, "Let us hope the air pollution situation in Delhi doesn't deteriorate or else we will have to stop plying of private vehicles. Only public transport will be used." The EPCA, in a press statement issued on Wednesday, further confirmed it’s stand and said that the measure to reduce pollution would be implemented whenever there is urgent requirement to control air pollution. “The EPCA will continue to monitor the situation very closely and see what further steps are required to be taken. It will direct these steps in consultation with the Central Pollution Control Board Task Force and state governments, including steps on reduction or ban on use of private vehicles and restraints on trucks entering Delhi,” the release said. The decision to ban plying of private vehicles has received quite a backlash from the citizens of Delhi as it is bound to create major commuting crisis in the city. Ashutosh Dixit, secretary general of URJA, a Residents Welfare Associations in Delhi, called the decisions rubbish. “Before making this statement about it’s decision EPCA should have consulted with the Delhi government or the Lieutenant Governor to check whether the idea is implementable at all,” he said. He also said that if the problem of pollution in Delhi has grown to an alarming extent then the EPCA could have decided to shutdown the city for few days and that would have been acceptable and also implementable. "Has the EPCA even consulted with the Delhi police whether it is ready to shoulder the herculean task of banning plying of such a huge number of vehicles," he said. Can EPCA issue orders without consulting Delhi government or the LG? The EPCA's sudden decision to ban private vehicles without consulting the state government and the LG’s office has caused fear that it might lead to a legal spat between the agencies. "The EPCA was formed by a Supreme Court order in the year 1998. One of its major functions is implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan. But banning of plying of private vehicles is not mandated by the plan. I do not see any logic behind the decision,” said Mahender Pandey, former scientist with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). He also said that that banning plying of private vehicles is not within the powers and functions of the EPCA. The Ministry Of Environment and Forests notification forming the EPCA clearly mentioned the powers and functions of the body to control vehicular pollution. It said, “The Authority shall, for controlling vehicular pollution, take all necessary steps to ensure compliance of specified emission standards by vehicles including proper calibration of the equipment for testing vehicular pollution, ensuring compliance of fuel quality standards, monitoring and coordinating action for traffic planning and management.” Mahender Pandey says that the Supreme Court empowered it with further powers to implement 'Odd Even’ traffic management system as an emergency measure to control pollution. “But nowhere it has been empowered to ban plying of private vehicles,” he adds. Graded Response Action Plan is a list of legal provisions which empower the EPCA to take emergency measures to control pollution. The plan does not entrust the EPCA to ban plying of private vehicles Naming the decsion to ban plying of private vehicles a Tughlaqi move he asked, “It has been observed many times by the EPCA that stubble burning in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana is one of the major contributors to Delhi’s pollution. But when it comes to taking pollution control measures the EPCA pounces upon the vehicles in Delhi. How does it even makes sense?” The EPCA in it’s press statement said that as per a recent survey by the central government vehicles in Delhi contribute 40 percent of the capital city’s pollution. The capital city’s air quality was 358 on Wednesday which falls in the category of ‘Very Poor’. What are the options for commuters? According to records, 32 lakh people travel by bus everyday and another 26 lakhs by Metro in Delhi. According to a source in the Delhi Transport Department, another 32 lakh travel only by bikes everyday. “Banning private vehicles would mean adding another tide of commuters to the existing transport system which would only lead to collapse of it,” the source told Firstpost. At present there are 4,000 city buses plying in Delhi whereas, the requirement is around of 11,000 buses. The Delhi government is in the process of purchasing 1,000 more city buses to to fill in the gap. “The order to purchase 1,000 buses was stuck in a litigation for the last one year. But now the Supreme Court of India and the Delhi High Court has cleared it and we have placed the order,” said Sharma. Dixit said that as of now there is not enough bus services in Delhi to meet the demand of the commuters. “There is still no high speed bus from Gurgaon Plaza to Delhi and Noida Plaza to Delhi. How the EPCA plans to implement this ban without supporting transport infrastriucture is a question,” he said. He also said that many areas in the city still do not have enough feeder buses to carry passenger to the metro station.<doc-sep>The chairman of the Supreme court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA), Bhure Lal, has tossed up an alarming suggestion to deal with the apprehension that air pollution in the national Capital could further worsen. Ban plying of all private vehicles! Bhure Lal’s remark has sent shock waves. If his suggestion is implemented at any stage, it could lead to a complete shutdown of Delhi as people are largely dependent on their own vehicles for commuting. Delhi has more vehicles as compared to Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangaluru combined. Emerging from the Supreme Court, Bhure Lal on Tuesday said that the Graded Action Response Plan (GRAP) will be implemented from November 1, and if air pollution continued to worsen, private vehicles will be stopped in Delhi. The GRAP is an emergency plan designed to take urgent remedial action when air quality deteriorates. “Let us hope Delhi air pollution situation doesn’t deteriorate or else will have to stop plying of private vehicles, only public transport will be used,” Bhure Lal added. Detailed provisions of the rule, if applied, have not been made known yet. Reacting to Bhure Lal’s statement, majority of people said that there will be a complete shutdown in Delhi if the Government stops using private vehicles. “The exchequer will incur loss of hundreds of crores in even one day of shutdown,” they said. Interestingly, public transport system of the Capital is crippled due to ongoing strike by DTC bus drivers and conductors and shortage of buses. The city needs 11,000 buses - it has only 5,429 buses. Of the 464 routes in Delhi, buses don’t run on five while on 75 routes, only one bus operates. Nearly half (230) routes have one to five buses operating. The situation is as dire in the cluster services, managed by the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) as 40 of its 147 routes are served by just one to five buses each. Together, they take more trips than the Delhi Metro. Approximately seven lakh vehicles are being registered in a year in Delhi and the law does not prescribe any limit for purchase of motor vehicles in the name of any person. Total number of registered vehicles in Delhi has crossed over 1.45 crore. Between April 1, 2017, and March 31, 2018, as many as 7,20,519 vehicles were registered in Delhi. Of these, 4,76,691 are two-wheelers. As per data, total 6,61,494 vehicles were registered in 2015 and 6,93,159 vehicles in 2016. The Supreme Court-appointed EPCA had informed the apex court on Monday that commercial vehicles like trucks and taxis were the major source of pollution in the national Capital and that there was a need to control their operation. “Out of all the vehicles, heavy commercial ones like trucks and other commercial vehicles such as taxis are the major polluting source, with very high carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide emissions,” it said. “There is a western disturbance approaching Delhi and the combination of increased moisture makes it likely that the air quality will dip significantly. This means that there is an urgent need to take action against existing factors leading to air pollution,” said officials adding the pollutants at lower levels are not able to disperse due to the light winds and smog can be easily seen. “Due to western disturbances, the wind speed is 2.5 km per hour,” officials added. Crop stubble burning, a major source of pollution, vehicular exhaust and a drop-off in wind speeds have aggravated the smog that is likely to worsen around 7 November, when fireworks will set off to celebrate the major Hindu festival of Diwali. EPCA has already proposed halting construction, the use of diesel-run power generators, brick kilns and the burning of garbage between November 1 and November 10 when pollution levels are expected to rise. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) report titled, “Air pollution and child health: Prescribing clean air”, India topped the list of air pollution-induced deaths in children below the age of five, with over 1.25 lakh children dying in 2016 in the country due to polluted air. A 2016 study by IIT-Kanpur had found that vehicular emissions contribute to around 9 per cent of the PM10 load in Delhi and around 20 per cent of the PM2.5 load. A study by TERI and Automobile Research Association of India (ARAI) in its study had also found that the contribution of vehicular emissions in Delhi’s air could go up to 30 per cent if secondary particles are taken into account. The Ministry of Environment and Forests had in 2003 published a white paper that reported that in the three decades between 1970-71 and 2000-01, the contribution of vehicles to particulate matter in Delhi’s air had more than trebled to 72 per cent from 23 per cent.<doc-sep>The Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) has said that it will ban all private vehicles from plying in Delhi if the pollution level in the capital city is not curbed by 1 November. The Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) has said that it will ban all private vehicles from plying in Delhi if the pollution level in the capital city is not curbed by 1 November. EPCA chairman Bhure Lal told CNN News18, that only public transport will be allowed on roads if Delhi continues to choke with hazardous levels of pollution. He said that the authority has already put in place a graded response action plan and it has been communicated to the local authorities concerned. He also said that Lietaunat Governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal, has asked officials to work strictly against pollution and questioned them on as to why they haven’t done anything. #BREAKING – Will remove private vehicles in Delhi and will have only public transport, warns Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority chairman. EPCA heads set heads sets November 1 deadline for reducing pollution. @Runjhunsharmas with more details | #RightToBreathe pic.twitter.com/63C8yu1Qur — News18 (@CNNnews18) October 30, 2018 Meanwhile, there were also reports of the Centre and the Delhi environment ministry carrying out week-long raids in Delhi starting from 1 November. Delhi's air quality turned 'severe' on Tuesday for the first time this season with stubble burning intensifying in neighbouring states, authorities said. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 3 pm was 401, falling in the 'severe' category, the highest this season, Central Pollution Control Board officials said. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'. The Centre-run System of Air Quality Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) attributed the spike to "heavy stubble burning in the last 24 hours and calm winds". About 28 percent of pollution by PM2.5 (presence of particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres) on Tuesday was caused due to regional factors like stubble burning, SAFAR officials said. The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) also spotted a large number of biomass fire spots through satellite imageries in neighbouring states of Delhi.<doc-sep>
Delhi-NCR residents may not be allowed to drive their private vehicles from tomorrow, if the air quality doesn't improve. According to a report by DNA, Supreme Court appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) has said that private vehicles may be taken off road from November 1 if the situation remains the same. The air quality in Delhi and neighbouring areas had deteriorated on Tuesday, turning "severe". A rise in particle pollutants overnight, mostly due to the local sources of pollution, was noted. The SC panel has already ordered the pollution control panels of Delhi and neighbouring states to stop all the dust generating construction activities from November 1 to 10, when the pollution is suppose to peak. At 4 p.m. on Tuesday, the Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi, which includes 36 regions, was 401 considered "severe". The AQI was 451 at Ghaziabad, 426 at Gurugram, 408 at Noida and 413 on Faridabad, all considered "severe". Greater Noida was the least polluted with near severe AQI at 394, on a scale of 0 to 500. Bhure Lal, chairman of EPCA told agencies on Tuesday, "“Let us hope the air pollution situation in Delhi doesn’t deteriorate but if it turns out to be an emergency, we will have to stop the use of private transport.” Bhure Lal further said that a committee will advise him on this. As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the "severe" levels affect healthy people and seriously impact those with existing diseases. On Tuesday, Delhi-NCR was covered in a smoky haze due to a high volume of trapped pollutants that affect visibility and hurt eyes of commuters. Experts have warned that episodes of smog will begin in a couple of days. "It is haze since ozone is at a good level. We cannot call it smog," K.J. Ramesh, head of India Meteorological Department (IMD) was quoted as saying by news agency IANS. CPCB has said that the air quality in the national capital is set to deteriorate further from November 1. Diwali this year will likely be more polluted. "Currently Delhi has trapped pollutants because dispersion is negligible. There is hardly any wind, so the pollutants are from local sources and dust," Mahesh Palawat, director Private Weather forecasting agency Skymet said. (With agency inputs)