Exhausting policy
Fixing air quality is not as easy as scrapping old vehicles. But govt's gone for the short cut
New York schoolteacher Irv Gordon drove his 1966 Volvo P1800S 51L km before his death in 2018. German Gunther Holtorf drove his 1988 Mercedes G-Class around the world – altogether 9L km – over 26 years. Neither US nor Germany has a mandatory vehicle scrappage rule. In fact, the average age of cars in US has risen from 9 years to 14 years since 2000. But India has made compulsory vehicle scrapping a pillar of its clean air policy, and starting yesterday, diesel vehicles older than 10 years, and petrol vehicles older than 15 years aren't being sold fuel in Delhi.
Agreed, vehicles that shouldn't be on the road shouldn't be fuelled. But govt diktats have costs – fuel station staff will spend time monitoring 62L registration plates, arguing with vehicle owners, and possibly getting manhandled. So, one must ask, what's the point? If the goal is to clean up Delhi's air, removing old vehicles won't make a significant dent. Yes, studies have shown that vehicles are responsible for over 50% of pollutants in Delhi's air, but that's largely due to the nature of stop-and-go traffic. All vehicles – new or old – pollute more in these conditions. The solution is to have fewer vehicles on the road, but that can't happen without comfortable and dependable public transport, and safe pedestrian and bicycle paths.
US air quality has improved tremendously since 1980 despite the increase in average vehicle age. That can happen only when govts look beyond the low-hanging fruit of vehicle scrappage. Prioritising vehicle maintenance over age, for example. How can Delhi's air be clean if 35% of its pollutants enter from neighbouring districts? Industry, mining, agriculture, deforestation, all affect air quality, but they can't be fixed with the stroke of a pen.
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This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
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