When I came across the announcement regarding driving restrictions in Delhi I was thinking this is an extreme measure. Several questions came to my mind right away. What went into the decision making process? Were all the facts considered? Was there enough internal debate and discussion with the public? Unlike other governments Delhi has a government with several technocrats and is led by an IIT alumnus; hence my gut feeling is that a reasonable due diligence was probably conducted.

However the skeptical management consultant in me went about with a quick and dirty research of my own. The questions I was trying to answer and the answers I  found are below:

1. What contributes to the air pollution in Delhi?

Per information available in the public domain the main contributors to air pollution are motor vehicles, construction dust, emissions from factories and burning of agricultural waste from neighboring states.

2.How bad is it? Simple answer- very bad, Delhi is the most polluted city in the world.

3. Are we addressing the root cause of the problem?

Car emissions account for around 75% of Delhi’s  pollution per CSE (Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi) estimates. If 75% of the problem is caused by motor vehicles, it makes sense to go after the same. However it would help if there is further segmentation of this category. Which sub category contributes most – diesel vehicles, cars, bikes, autos? I don’t have these numbers handy, but I am sure the government has those numbers and has hopefully reviewed the same.

4.How can the solution be made palatable for the public?  

Given netamaker poll results on the issue, it appears that more education is needed to engage the public. The government spokespersons can leverage the electronic media and the gram sabhas to discuss the issue to gather feedback from the masses.

5.What other measures can be taken?

Where are we on an end of life policy for vehicles more than 15 years old? Is there is a scrap yard to process such vehicles? Are we enforcing these policies?

What financial measures can be taken to reduce the number of cars on the roads? How many vehicles can a family own? Should road taxes go up substantially for owning more vehicles?

How can public transport be improved? How could private bus services be leveraged?

6. How are other countries dealing with air pollution?

This is not my specific area of expertise, but here is a link to how Hong Kong is addressing the issue for those interested. Further research could yield much for insight.  

http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/air/air_maincontent.html

For more netamaker perspectives http://www.netamaker.com/zing.php