Skip to main content

Delhi’s plan to cut pollution

The authorities in Indian capital Delhi are keen to cut pollution in the city. Delhi currently ranks as one of the worst in the world for air pollution, with vehicles, power generation and industry as three of the prime causes of the problem. The next step being made will be to restrict drivers from using their vehicles to alternate days, depending on whether the licence plate has an odd or even number. This approach has been used already in a number of cities such as Lagos and Beijing to cut congestion and
December 9, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The authorities in Indian capital Delhi are keen to cut pollution in the city. Delhi currently ranks as one of the worst in the world for air pollution, with vehicles, power generation and industry as three of the prime causes of the problem. The next step being made will be to restrict drivers from using their vehicles to alternate days, depending on whether the licence plate has an odd or even number. This approach has been used already in a number of cities such as Lagos and Beijing to cut congestion and pollution levels.

The scheme in Delhi will have its detractors but is seen as essential to help reduce the city’s chronic pollution problem. The city’s coal-fired power station is also to be shut down in a bid to further address the issue. In addition to exhaust emissions and industry, the smoke from fires provides another key source of the air pollution. The city is now ranked as having the worst air quality of any in the world, having surpassed Beijing for this dubious honour. Mumbai and Hyderabad also suffer severe pollution but no measures have so far been announced for these cities.

In the future, vehicles being operated in Delhi will have to meet the Euro VI emissions legislation and this measure will be implemented from 2017. In past years diesel vehicles were required to run on gas in a bid to cut pollution. But even this measure has had an insufficient effect on improving air quality in recent times.

Related Content

  • Asphalt paving advances for global markets
    October 27, 2022
    New asphalt paver designs for global markets are now being made available
  • Reflective road markings an aid to road safety
    February 8, 2012
    Horizontal and high-tech in-road markings are all being used in a bid to keep roads safe as Patrick Smith reports. Many modern roads, especially in urban areas, are equipped with the latest technology to guide drivers and, more importantly, improve safety.
  • Game-changing ideas that deliver daily life and continue to evolve
    December 14, 2016
    As World Highways celebrates its 25-year anniversary this month, we thought that it would be a good moment to take a step back and look at the exciting times we live and work in, and pick out a few of the game-changing new products, technologies and services that have brought about so much innovation in our industry over the past quarter of a century. Where will these new ways of thinking and working take us next? The global highways market has been transformed in the lifetime of World Highways by high-v
  • Are road tolls the economic answer?
    November 12, 2012
    Tolling has been widely promoted as the answer to future road needs by many economists. The fundamental principle of a toll road is comparatively easy to understand: a driver wants to get from here to there and pays a small sum for the privilege. Drivers generally prefer to access roads without having to pay but the sums involved in toll roads tend to be comparatively low. For all but the most parsimonious, parting with a few coins to use a stretch of highway in good order is comparatively painless, made ev