Stop waiting for miracles

It’s that time of the year again when Delhi and its neighbouring regions brace for an annual apocalypse. Temperatures are dropping, and as the wind slows, pollutants already present in the atmosphere will settle closer to the ground.

We won’t be able to breathe. All we can do is hope and pray for divine intervention — for the gods of wind and rain to show mercy. Because, let’s face it, despite all these years, we’ve done next to nothing to combat pollution effectively.

The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) was supposed to be an emergency alert system to tackle pollution spikes with immediate measures. But what do we actually do? Wait until the situation becomes unbearable, and then take half-hearted actions, that are too little, too late.

Now we’re hearing that the government will play god, using cloud seeding to create artificial rain and wash away the pollutants. But we know this: moisture traps pollutants, often worsening the problem. So, let’s cut to the chase. How do we reclaim the benefits of pollution control? First, a quick recap of what’s been done so far.

This story starts in the 1990s, when the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released its report, ‘Slow Murder’, proposing an action plan. The main culprits behind pollution (and this shouldn’t surprise anyone) were vehicles, poor fuel quality and lax emission standards.

In the late 1990s, the Supreme Court intervened, mandating cleaner fuel, stricter emission standards (the foundation of Bharat Stage 1, 2, 3, 4, and now 6 norms), and a boost in public transport. In 1998, the apex court ordered 11,000 buses to hit Delhi’s roads. Over 16 years later, the city hasn’t even achieved half that number. But let’s park that discussion for now.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) emerged as a leapfrog solution — a stopgap while petrol and diesel quality took another decade to improve.

CNG brought immediate relief and was a game-changer at the time. Anyone who lived in Delhi in the early 2000s can tell you how controversial this decision was. But it worked. Now, as we stand on the cusp of the electric vehicle revolution, the shift to CNG offers vital lessons.

The tech challenge

Back then, no country had adopted CNG for vehicles at the scale Delhi proposed. Affordability was another issue. Policies had to guide technological innovation — designing safety standards and bus prototypes, for instance. Financial incentives helped phase out old buses and auto-rick-shaws in favour of CNG models.

The implementation challenge

This wasn’t about rolling out a few CNG buses. The court ordered a complete transition within two to three years. Coordination and swift decision-making were crucial. Today, Delhi boasts an ambitious e-bus plan. But it’s crawling along, failing to match the explosive rise in private vehicle ownership. In 2023, the number of private vehicles registered in Delhi doubled compared to the previous year.

Despite rising petrol and diesel prices eating into household budgets, the surge in private cars chokes not only the roads but also every investment in infrastructure, technology and cleaner fuel. Meanwhile, countless old vehicles still spew pollutants unchecked.

The math is simple: even if new vehicles are cleaner, their sheer numbers negate any benefits.

The second culprit: dirty fuels

From kitchen stoves to factories and thermal power plants, the fuels we burn — primarily biomass or coal — are the second major source of pollution.

The Supreme Court banned the dirtiest fuel, petcoke, while Delhi government prohibited coal usage, later extending the ban across the National Capital Region. Thermal power plants were supposed to clean up or shut down. Yet, progress here has been sluggish. The CNG shift taught us that bans only work when people have alternatives.

When diesel buses were scrapped, CNG supplies had to be reliable and affordable. Similarly, fiscal policies ensured that clean fuel remained cheaper than its dirtier counterpart. Now, while coal is banned, the high cost of natural gas is driving industries to the brink of non-competitiveness. This is a recipe for failure.

The way forward

There’s so much more to say, and I promise to keep speaking up about this. But here’s the crux: clean air requires year-round effort. It demands collective action on a massive scale.

Let’s stop waiting for miracles. It’s time to act — and act decisively.