As Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal proposes the controversial vehicular restriction, we must question its feasibility

Before we start a debate on vehicular curbs in the city, we need to recognise a few things. First, vehicular congestion is a problem and is impacting economic prospects with millions of man-hours lost in fruitless traffic jams in the city. The second is that while vehicular pollution is not the worst sort of pollution, it does create a whole host of noxious gases, particularly nitrous oxides, which are unique to the burning of petroleum products. In that light is the proposal by the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to reintroduce the “odd-even” vehicle rationing scheme after the Diwali festivities to control the November smog practical or not? There is after all, little evidence to show that previous “odd-even” schemes have worked significantly and one must remember that the last time it was planned, the scheme was shot down by the courts. Besides, pollutants have been going down this year. But Kejriwal has cited an issue that he has no control over, namely stubble burning in neighbouring States.

While a vehicular restriction scheme is not a bad idea per se, something like “odd-even”, which is heavy-handed, needs to be fine-tuned. In this context, Delhi-NCT should take inspiration from other cities where such practices are followed, notably London and Beijing. In Beijing for example, on weekdays numberplate based restrictions affect just 20 per cent of vehicles. In London, a heavy congestion charge on bringing vehicles into the city has resulted in a dramatic decline in inner-city pollution. However, in both cities, both local and regional public transport services, are far superior to that in the Delhi-NCT. The capital of India still suffers from a dramatic shortage of buses for example, something that has not been solved. And while the city has one of the most extensive mass-transit systems in the world today in the form of the Delhi Metro, it barely scratches the surface and one wonders where Delhi would have been minus it. Possibly once the Regional Railway Transit System (RRTS), that will connect Delhi to nearby cities alongside Phase-IV of the Delhi Metro, takes off, there could be potentially be a more planned offloading of vehicles from the city’s roads. One other problem with “odd-even” plan before was the huge number of exemptions, particularly for two-wheelers and for women. If a scheme is to be successful, not only should all private vehicles be covered, no exemptions must be made. But Delhi-NCT should look at long-term and permanent solutions to vehicular congestion and pollution. A congestion charge in Central Delhi, alongside a steep increase in parking charges for example, could be considered. This could be followed up with building parking towers outside and not just rely on inefficient surface parking. Also the government can look at a “pollution charge.” New BS6 capable vehicles, particularly BS6 diesels, are cleaner than their BS3 and BS4 brethren, and since registration data includes such details, these vehicles should be charged extra to enter the congestion zone or at parking bays. Most importantly, just like the Delhi Traffic Police has installed hundreds of cameras across the city to monitor traffic, the State transport department should use the funds raised from the new fines under the Motor Vehicles Act to install more cameras and automated systems for traffic management. As for Diwali, it would be better to crack down on firecrackers as well as increasing awareness drives for the public about the dangers of the toxic gases that these produce.