4/29/2016 Nothing odd about road rationing

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YOU ARE HERE : Home » Columnists » Oped MORE COLUMNS COLUMNISTS Money can’t buy elixir of life NOTHING ODD ABOUT ROAD RATIONING 29 Apr 2016 | Ruchi Shree | in Oped

Thursday, 28 April 2016 | Daljeet Kaur | in Oped Odd-even is not enough 29 Apr 2016 | Sumit Sharma | in Oped 0 Initiatives like the odd-even scheme are necessary but there ought to be a transportation network so Yet another washout session in the works that the commuter may shift from private to public mode 29 Apr 2016 | Kalyani Shankar | in Oped

Early summers, short winters, extreme temperatures, scanty rainfall — shifting seasons have become a Promote managerial skills in the country common phenomenon across the country. The Meteorological Department's prediction of a normal 29 Apr 2016 | Vinayshil Gautam | in Oped monsoon this year, thus, brings a ray of hope. One will not need a scientic study to state the obvious: Environmental stresses are building up every year, which in turn demands urgent responses from civic High-stakes battle at North-East gateway 29 Apr 2016 | Rekha Saxena | in Edit bodies, corporates and citizens alike. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 33 per cent by 2030 calls for a fundamental change in our consumption patterns and a structural Uttarakhand status quo change in planning. 29 Apr 2016 | Pioneer | in Edit

In this backdrop, the second round of the odd-even scheme in the national capital reminds us to support The people’s ambassador this initiative in full strength despite the scorching heat. While several oppose this car rationing scheme, 29 Apr 2016 | Pioneer | in Edit many feel that the introduction of such strict laws will help ght pollution which has increased beyond permissible limits in . Modi picks up speed, Congress loses steam 28 Apr 2016 | Gautam Mukherjee | in Edit Delhi being the one of the most polluted cities in the world, last year recorded 50 per cent higher levels of PM2.5 during rush hours than during ambient air quality readings. Black carbon, a major pollutant, was Natural heritage ablaze 28 Apr 2016 | Pioneer | in Edit found to be three times higher in Delhi. Pollution monitoring stations across the city estimated a reduction of PM2.5 levels during the rst 15 days of the odd-even formula. Despite these claims during Don’t ignore Afghanistan the last cycle, there were many critics of the scheme. The Ministry of Earth Sciences and the System of Air 28 Apr 2016 | Pioneer | in Edit Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research said that the air pollution levels over the weekend showed a steady decrease.

While we track and monitor air quality to determine the effectiveness of the odd-even scheme every day, it is still very early to calibrate its impact. However, the obvious reduction of cars on the roads is an undisputed positive result. Road rationing, similar to the one being implemented in Delhi, has witnessed varied results across cities in the developing countries. Beijing, which is one of the most polluted cities in the world, rst introduced the odd-even measure during the Summer Olympics of 2008. Almost 40 per cent reduction in vehicular emission during the intervention prompted the authorities to continue the rationing of vehicles on the road. Mexico City also carried similar interventions to improve the polluted ambient air quality along with Santiago, Bogota, Rome and Milan. Studies show that air quality improves substantially when odd-even is introduced for the rst time in all cities. The results after second and subsequent implementation are not so uniform. While Beijing registered more positive impacts, the road rationing programme of Mexico City failed when the scheme was made permanent. In the absence of a sound reliable public transportation network covering the entire city, commuters have little choice but to buy a second car. A study from the University of Michigan gave evidence that the restrictions in the city led to an increase in the total number of old vehicles in OUR COLUMNISTS circulation and an increase in the overall carbon monoxide levels by 13 per cent, after the scheme was made permanent. Delhi, needs to learn from such experiences to design a more rounded pollution control CHANDAN MITRA programme. To ensure long-term impact, several measures such as a reliable public transportation network, which allows the commuter to shift from a private to public mode, need to be in place. The public transport system should be able to reduce time, cut costs and provide quality transport options. In other words, Government's effort should be on making an imperative shift from private to public transport, rather than a forced transformation. The Government can adopt simple drivers of change like higher congestion taxes during peak hours, provide incentives to companies adopting exi hours or work-from-home options, encourage car pooling by disallowing single passenger/driver car during ofce hours, build cycle lanes and allow for safe pedestrian movement. Global civilisation has come a full circle. With reduced and degraded common pool resources, decision-makers have a tough task ahead. Lenient environmental policies will not meet the SHOBORI GANGULI challenge of climate change. The problem we face today may not have one simple solution but the way forward lies in adopting simple, innovative measures which promote lifestyle changes, especially among the rich in developing and developed nations. ASHOK MALIK (The writer is an associate director at IPE Global, an international development consulting group)

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Bharati B Has your columnist read for herslf the government notifications? She has bought into the 10695 public pronouncements of the AAP leaders without checking the fact. And the fact is that BALBIR PUNJ this scheme is expressly and only for controlling vehicular pollution, and has nothing to do with reducing congestion. The CM has publicly admitted it has had no appreciable impact on the former, and independent agencies report no significant impact on the latter. Does your columnist have cites for the "undisputed positive result" and the JOGINDER SINGH "studies" she claims? itself reported IIT studies that support none of the hype propagated by your columnist. How about the "several measures" and "simple drivers" first being put in place, starting with the exemptions in the scheme itself? Has your columnist checked them out in the notifications? They are so numerous, it is laughable. RAJESH SINGH Do 2-wheelers not pollute? Why have they been excluded? They are far more polluting than cars. Include them and then see how popular is this scheme. The Delhi CM's own inclusion is laughable too - does he travel by bus to all his public appointments or does he use a conveniently numbered taxpayer-funded car? The scheme applies essentially to one-car non-VIP men. The absence of just this one category on the road reduces pollution KUSHAN MITRA (or even congestion) significantly? Sales of "second"cars have surged. There are more 2- wheelers on the road. All this has been reported in The Pioneer. It was the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court that pushed for this scheme and Kejriwal, to curry favour with them, pushed it through. The government notifications clearly acknowledge the role ABHIJIT IYER­MITRA of the courts. Then Kejriwal exempted the judges from this scheme and the judges, as VIPs, had no qualms accepting this privilege for themselves for a scheme they had insisted be implemented against VOPs. Do their cars not pollute?Now the judges want lawyers exempted and, Kejriwal, again to curry favour with them, is prepared to do so. He KG SURESH pretended to supply buses free for the MPs but it turns out their expense was a charge on the taxpayer. Kejriwal is clearly aiming to the advantage of his political constituency - it has nothing to do with his government's o蘴icially notified objective. That objective the government itself accepts has not been met, so it diverts attention from its failure by MAYURI MUKHERJEE talking about congestion, ably supported by credulous columnists like Ms Kaur.

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