Odd even rule-Policy to be welcomed and assessed

The Delhi government’s new proposed rule to run vehicles with odd and even numbers on alternate days has incurred much condemnation. While there’s a section of Indian society that has appreciated the idea, calling it a necessary step forward to control the alarming rise in pollution in the city, there’s also another section who are considering this move as unworkable and unrealistic. The most significant question being asked by critics is the most basic one: do we really need to do this? Even though both sides of the argument have perfectly valid points, one must realize that there are both pros and cons to this initiative. 

In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) had named Delhi as the most polluted city in the world, with 13 out of 20 most polluted cities in the world hailing from India. Looking into the lack of alternate modes to counter the unending pollution problems in Delhi, the move seems to produce a relief nevertheless the solution is not a permanent one. It is a grave concern that the number of people who died every hour in Delhi because of air pollution has increased by three times in nearly 20 years. A recent report by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) claims air pollution in Delhi responsible for 10,000 to 30,000 deaths annually.Research substantiates that air pollution is bad for health. Adverse health effects can be caused by short and long term exposures to air pollution. Particulate matter is the component of air pollution known to cause the most health impacts as particulate matter of 10 microns or smaller can lodge deep inside the lungs and even enter our blood stream. Children, the elderly and poor people are more susceptible to the harmful health effects of bad air.A senior pediatrician and his team at St Stephen’s Hospital conducted a study and observed air pollution had an impact on birth of low weight newborns in the city. Babies born in polluted areas were found smaller than babies born to mothers of the same socio-economic strata in less polluted areas. The continuous studies emphasize that if no action is taken, these numbers could rise tremendously and this is an alarming for the country.

Moreover, rather than making it a hype situation we must welcome and assesses the initiatives towards finding some long lasting solutions to pollution problems. The policy if successful could give leads to other states too and hence plan accordingly. We should be aware that this isn’t the first time something like this is happening in the world.The same system was executed in Beijing in 2008 just before the summer Olympics. While the regulation was initially said to be provisional, it turned out to be so effective, the government made it permanent. Similar road-regulating rules are imposed in many places around the world like Paris, Mexico etc. to curb road jams and pollution. The more recent case to combat the pollution problem has been the cities of Milan and Rome as Italy battled a buildup of health-threatening pollution caused by freakishly dry and warm winter weather. As a row erupted over the efficacy of the measures, Milan and the nearby town of Pavia banned cars from their roads between 10:00am and 4:00pm for three days starting Monday. In Rome, owners of cars with odd-numbered plates were ordered to leave them at home for the day. On Tuesday, cars with even-numbered plates will be targeted under a measure used three times this month with limited effect.Traffic restrictions were also in place in the southern city of Naples, where only vehicles operating to an emissions standard known as Euro 4 are allowed to circulate this week. This gives an idea that various countries are using similar odd even and serious efforts to find amicable ways and safeguard its citizens.

The road regulations maylead to good outcomes in form of infrastructure and public transport development through serious efforts on part of the administration.One could also witness initiatives on part of the corporates in the form of Car-pooling, work from home, plug and play offices, bus aggregators, free metro passes… These are some of the steps corporate India is scrambling to put in place for employees. Given the traffic situation, constantly finding solutions to ease the congestion on the road is an imperative. Corporates are increasingly adopting ‘agile working’ models which will allow employees to work from anywhere as opposed to spending long unproductive hours on the road. These initiatives have a bearing on safeguarding the country’s resources and resulting development.

While odd even policy is one such initiative, there are other measures needed towards curbing the alarming pollution problems. Steps to decongest city roads and improve quality need to be taken hand in hand because one feeds on another. It is a given that along with such measures to ration road space, the government needs to improve public transport, enforce stricter emission norms and also tone up modes of transport such as three-wheelers and taxis.There should be complete stop to use of coal as well as burning of municipal solid waste besides efficient concrete batching and construction waste handling to keep the dust off.The government alone cannot undertake this arduous task alone – the citizens have to be responsible and contributive. Every individual should keep a proper check on the pollution level of their vehicles and making more use of CNG.  The country also have options to switch increasingly to electric and hybrid vehicles. More and more trees must be planted in every locality. Each and every citizen should abide by the 3Rs: Recycle, Reuse, Reduce.It is the duty of every citizen to think in a broader perspective to control pollution. We really don’t want our future generations to live in an unhealthy environment. We don’t want our children and elderly to suffer most because of this deadly pollution.

If every citizen becomes responsible and takes a pledge to do a bit for our environment, I am sure our country will be a better place to live in. This should be our resolution for the year 2016.

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