With Air Quality Index (AQI) levels in Delhi staying in the 400-plus zone ('Severe') over the past few days, a parliamentary panel in Delhi has called for a number of measures to curb alarming air pollution levels in the national capital.
In its air pollution report for Delhi-NCR, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology and Environment—chaired by BJP MP Bhubaneswar Kalita—has condemned the lack of political action towards curbing the issue.
One of the main suggestions of the panel was to impose an annual ceiling on the registration of new non-electric (petrol/diesel) vehicles in Delhi, as per an Economic Times article.
In that regard, the panel also recommended introducing incentives to help consumers shift from non-electric vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs), such as lower loan interest rates on EV purchases, lower insurance premiums for EVs, encouraging government employees to purchase EVs, and providing income tax exemptions for the same.
In addition to offering incentives at various stages of the EV production process, the parliamentary panel has also recommended charging higher parking tariffs and imposing stricter rules on non-EVs.
Other notable recommendations made by the panel include:
App-based clean (and reliable) public transport, such as electric buses, to reduce reliance on private vehicles.
The usage of remote-sensing technology to better identify vehicles that emit high levels of pollutants, in order to improve the system of issuing (and checking for) Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates.
Expediting work on some of Delhi's Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridors—a high-speed rail network linking various hotspots in the national capital region, and the surrounding areas. These include the Delhi-Gurugram-Behror and Delhi-Panipat-Karnal corridors.
Expediting plans for Phase 5 of the Delhi Metro's expansion plans.