By Admin 
Delhi-NCR Air Pollution: Year changed, time changed, but the poisonous winds of Delhi-NCR did not change. Firstly, due to harsh winter, dense fog and on top of that, pollution, the health of the people living in Delhi-NCR is continuously deteriorating. Many efforts are being made, but nothing concrete is emerging.
In an effort to prevent or reduce pollution, use of generators has been banned, burning of bonfires in the open has been banned and entry of buses running on petrol and diesel in cities has also been stopped. Apart from these, BS-3 petrol and BS-4 diesel cars are also not being allowed to run on the roads in Delhi-NCR.
What are BS-3, 4 and 6 categories?
The BS-3 category includes models manufactured before 2010, which are based on old pollution standards and emit more smoke. Vehicles like Hyundai Santro, Indigo, Tata Indica come under BS-3 category. This means that they emit more pollutants like nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) compared to vehicles falling under BS-4 or BS-6 category.
Similarly, BS-4 are vehicles manufactured between 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2020. Models like Toyota Inova to Mahindra Scorpio fall in this category. In such a situation, there is a ban on running them also. At present BS-6 standards are in force. That means the models coming after BS-4 which reduce pollution. These keep the air clean and do not harm it.
common man in trouble
Now the question arises that every 5-10 years the vehicles will become old, then how will the common man survive, who usually buy vehicles on EMI, which is not ending that again a new order is coming and they are forced to sell their vehicles and buy new cars. Apart from this, they have no other option because in cities like Delhi-NCR, there is no other special means available except metro connectivity. It is not wise to rely on cabs every day. In such a situation, people are mostly buying new cars by making some amount down payment, but if a car which lasts for 30-40 years is declared old in 5-10 years, then where will people go.
Why ban on old vehicles?
On this, many things came to light in ABP Live’s conversation with Shivaji Sarkar, professor at IIMC and market expert. He told, “In foreign countries, 40-40 year old vehicles are used, but in our country, they are not allowed to be sold in the name of increase in pollution. Whereas the smoke emitted from vehicles is less than 1 percent, there is no question of increase in pollution due to them. In such a situation, many times when vehicles are sold, companies buy them and recycle their parts (headlights, windshield etc.) and use them in new vehicles.
Citing a recent report of Times of India, he said that Delhi has been one of the cleanest cities since the year 2020, so why and how pollution is spreading is a big question in itself.
Shivaji Sarkar further says, “8,20,000 vehicles have been sold in Delhi in the last one year.” In such a situation, companies are getting 30-90 percent more profit by using old parts and selling new vehicles. Whereas the common man is being harmed by this. Generally 70-80 percent people are buying cars by taking loans, which takes at least seven-eight years to repay. Meanwhile, the vehicles will become old again after two-three years and they will be stopped from running, this is a game which should be stopped from being played.
Public transport should be better
He further says, “For this, more work should be done on the transport system in Delhi-NCR. Buses should be good with metro connectivity. It should be kept in mind that these should cover as many routes as possible because apart from Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, there are other districts which fall in the NCR region. In such a situation, access to these should also be improved so that people do not rely on personal vehicles but use public transport as much as possible. In Delhi, treating vehicles like enemies in the name of pollution is completely inappropriate and the government needs to take immediate action on this.
Also read:
Companies become rich from shares in 2025, record high level shows impact on market cap