1

Soumya Jain

Professor Lalit Contractor

Urban Economics

15 December, 2022

Is Traffic Management enough? Delhi’s Air needs more to become Breathable

Introduction

Delhi is one of the world’s most polluted cities in the world1. Air quality remains dismal and more

and more residents report difficulty in breathing. While Delhi suffers from water pollution, poor

waste management and high crime rates in certain areas, air pollution is one of its more permanent

and stubborn issues. One of the most common arguments about Delhi’s air pollution is that traffic

and vehicles are responsible for the majority of it2. This is not the case. Vehicular pollution accounts

for at most one-fifth of total air pollution and therefore policy changes in other areas that cause air

pollution could significantly contain the problem3. Causes of air pollution in Delhi other than

vehicles are: large scale use of diesel generators, burning of fields at the end of each year in nearby

states, increasing road dust and emissions from thermal power plants4. All of this has reduced the

welfare and utility experienced by Delhi’s residents. Increasingly more and more people do not like

living in Delhi and those who can afford it are moving to different cities5. For those who stay back,

air pollution is resulting in respiratory and cardiac diseases which is reducing life expectancy and

fitness6. Policy changes can go a long way in reducing this problem and therefore this proposal puts

forth measures to curb air pollution in Delhi.

Proposed Policy

A comprehensive policy targeting air pollution through not just reducing traffic emissions but also

through improving public transport, establishing substitute energy supply mechanisms and reducing

the annual burning of fields in Northern India.

The policy will target air pollution levels through:

(a) Stricter implementation of the Odd-Even policy wherein cars would be allowed on roads only

on every other day

• Evidence demonstrates that the odd-even policy adopted by the Delhi government did have

positive effects and reduced the concentration of SPM (Suspended Particulate Matter) in the air

during those days7. Implementing this for a larger number of days will have positive returns in the

long run.

(b) A new rule that limits the number of vehicles owned by an individual at any given time. People

falling under a certain tax bracket (Income tax measures can be used) should be allowed to own

only a certain number of vehicles at any given point in time.

• Reducing the number of vehicles on roads will have first order effects on air quality

(c) Allocating resources, funds and personnel to make public transport safer for women and other

vulnerable groups.

• This will have added effects of increasing employment opportunities for local employees and will

encourage more and more to use public transport.

(d) Reducing the usage of diesel-run generators by encouraging people to install solar panels in

households (similar to the policy implemented in the state of Tamil Nadu).

• A large part of Delhi’s public buildings including hospitals, shopping malls, hotels etc. rely on

diesel-run generators as a source of alternative in times of power outage8. New policies should be

implemented which make use of solar panels mandatory for commercial buildings. In the long

run, this could even lead to decreasing dependence on traditional thermal power plants for

everyday energy requirements.

(e) A policy put forth by the Central Government that ensures cooperation between states and

interest groups regarding the burning of fields during winter months of (October to December).

• While this is predominantly a political measure, it would significantly impact the level of

pollution in Delhi which is the worst during winters every year.

Economic consideration

The above mentioned provisions will require government investment and monitoring. This will

increase costs for the government. Additionally, it is difficult to ensure that the odd-even policy is

being implemented properly at all times since measures like these tend to lose momentum after a

while. For the tax bracket separation, one of the problems that could arise is that people might have

a higher utility from a larger number of vehicles than what they are allowed.

Future research

Region specific targets need to be achieved in terms of air quality. Future research needs to come up

with long term solutions that are effective and sustainable. With increasing urbanisation of Delhi,

pollution levels need to be checked in order to make sure that the natural resources of the region do

not get exhausted before their time. A possible avenue in this arena could be policies that deal with

limiting the number of migrants coming into Delhi and/or an overall population limit per smaller

region.

Bibliography

1. Guttikunda, Sarath. “Air Pollution in Delhi.” Economic and Political Weekly 47, no. 26/27

(2012): 24–27. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23251681.

2. Guttikunda, Sarath.

3. Guttikunda, Sarath.

4. Sridhar, Kala Seethraman, and Surender Kumar. “India’s Urban Environment: Air/Water

Pollution and Pollution Abatement.” Economic and Political Weekly 48, no. 6 (2013): 22–25.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/23391387.

5. Slater, Joana. “India’s pollution refugees: People are fleeing Delhi because of the toxic air” The

Washington Post 2018

6. Thomas, Vinod and Chitranjali Tiwari. “Delhi, the world’s most air polluted capital fights back”

Brookings 2020

7. Guttikunda, Sarath.

8. Guttikunda, Sarath.

9. Kathuria, Vinish. “Vehicular Pollution Control in Delhi: Impact of Compressed Natural Gas.”

Economic and Political Weekly 40, no. 18 (2005): 1907–16. http://www.jstor.org/stable/

4416578.

10. Goel, Rahul, and Pallavi Pant. “Vehicular Pollution Mitigation Policies in Delhi.” Economic

and Political Weekly 51, no. 9 (2016): 41–45. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44004441.

11. Roy Chowdhury, Anumita, Avikal Somvanshi, and Centre for Science and Environment.

“Winter Pollution in Delhi-NCR: October-February, 2020-21.” Air Quality Tracker Initiative.

Centre for Science and Environment, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep37911.11.