Pollution in New Delhi

During past one week New Delhi experience 17 times more pollution with dangerous consequences. Delhi govt closed schools for 3 days. The pollution is described as smoking 5 packs (50 no's) of cigarettes a day. In addition to high automobile pollution, burning of millions of tonnes of agriculture waste by farmers in adjoining fields in UP, Haryana on which there is government regulation is the reason.

• Agriculture waste could be used for generating power and dealing with ash & smoke with technologies to restrict to statutory levels.
• Dust on the streets could be handled by spraying water and increasing green cover and using recycled sewerage water for watering the greenery.
• Grow plants in all government lands.
• Make it mandatory to earmark 30% land for tree plantation in all future housing layouts.
• All polluting industries in Delhi should be moved out of NCR and strict pollution control measures enforced including stone crushers and brick kilns.

Automobile pollution could be tackled ...

• Strengthen and subsidise metro and public transportation.
• Ban all SUVs and diesel cars.
• Limit petrol cars engine capacity to maximum of 1600cc.
• 2 Wheelers (four stroke petrol engine) below 100cc should be encouraged. 
• Ban 2 wheelers with engine above 150cc. 
• All vehicles should be retired within 10 years.
• All buses, mini buses & school buses must run only on CNG.
• Promote battery powered small cars with incentives and subsidies.
• Ambulances should run only on petrol.
• Multi occupancy car travel should be encouraged.
• Share car to work by 3 or 4 people should be encouraged and campaigned.
• Diesel generator sets should be replaced with battery powered inverters. Also eliminate power cuts and interruptions.

My View:

Concentrated development is very cheap model of development suitable for countries with small population. Distributed development is also an option but very expensive. Developing multiple cities/towns development is another feasible option. In a populous country like ours limiting consumption and controlling wastage and emissions should be mandatory and made culpable & cognizable offence.