Vehicular pollution control strategies for urban areas: a case of Ahmedabad city

Abstract

Air Pollution has posed a major health hazard to the urban population, across theworld. Rapid urbanization and linear growth of vehicular population has resulted intofast deterioration of the urban aii quality. WHO estimates a 3 million death every yeardue to air pollution that accounts for 5pct. of total annual deaths, occurring in theworld. Billions of dollars are being spent on air pollution related health issues andsocial and environmental cost burden of air pollution is beyond fathom.The Indian major cities are on the threshold of a major environmental crisis due to theuncontrolled urbanisation and rapid growth of vehicular population. Policyintervention began in India with first emission norms for new petrol vehicles in 1991.Emission norms gradually became stringent and other measures were also started, butthe air quality in many Indian cities has not improved, possibly because of theineffective enforcement of abatement measures and incapability of policyinterventions to maintain the pace with massive growth of motor vehicles.Ahmedabad, a medium size city with over 45 lakh population and 12.5 lakh motorvehicles is one of the most polluted major cities in India, with the highest level ofannual RSPM concentration level. Abatement measures have not made any significantdifference because the level of NOx has doubled in the last 8 years and the annualmean concentration level of RSPM has reached four times higher than the limitsprescribed by WHO and USEPA. It is necessary to mention that RSPM is the mostresponsible pollutant for a high level of premature deaths and morbidity in Indian andAsian cities.This study has made an attempt to understand the nature and scope of the problems ofvehicular pollution and analyse the policy instruments applied in India andAhmedabad. The main purpose of the study is to suggest alternative strategies ofvehicular pollution mitigation. Policy framework and strategies are based on learningfrom international experiences and understanding problems in Indian context ingeneral and Ahmedabad in particular. Feasibility of all instruments in the Indiancontext, requirements of minimum cost and immediate impact are the main guidingprincipals for selecting policy instruments and recommending strategies.The goal of improving air quality of Ahmedabad and other Indian cities can only beachieved by combining all aspects of vehicular pollution management. Fuel qualityand vehicle technology improvement may not work if numbers of vehicles keep onincreasing with current rate and a large number of old vehicles are permitted tocontinue on road with high level of emission. The policy has to focus on controllingthe growth rate of motor vehicles and reducing the total travelled kilometres andemission per vehicle per kilometre. This requires a combination of fuel and vehiculartechnology improvement, inspection and maintenance of in-use vehicles, efficientpublic transport system, selected travel demand management measures, trafficmanagement improvements, land use and transport management co-ordination and aneffective implementation mechanism to implement the policies and abatementmeasures. Some hard steps are also required to be taken to identify the gross pollutingvehicles and taking them off road or convert them to alternative fuels. Lack ofimmediate and effective policy interventions will soon result into an unmanageablescenario.