For a Decade Now, Mumbai’s Sitting on its Reduce Cars Plan

For a Decade Now, Mumbai’s Sitting on its Reduce Cars Plan
Mumbai | Written by Ankita Sinha | Updated: December 08, 2015 01:46 IST
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For a Decade Now, Mumbai’s Sitting on its Reduce Cars Plan
Mumbai is yet to act on the expert panel recommendation that it cut down cars on the road by 20 per cent.

MUMBAI: As Delhi plans to limit vehicles with either even or odd number plates to alternate days of the week, Mumbai is worried about what it should to control air pollution.

‘I think twice before going out for a run in the morning now as the air isn’t healthy anymore’ said a resident.

Mumbai was warned over a decade ago by a committee set up by the Bombay High Court to cut one in every five vehicles on the road. But, despite this warning, the State Government is yet to implement any policy to give the committee’s recommendation effect.

“One of the recommendations of the committee was that there was a need to reduce the number of private cars on the roads. We had suggested a 20 per cent reduction in vehicles on trial basis. Which meant that on a Monday, vehicles ending with number plates 1 and 2 would be prohibited, Tuesday 3 and 4 would be banned and so on,” said environmentalist Debi Goenka.

Air quality data collected by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board shows that annual Nitrogen Oxide concentration in Mumbai has doubled over the past decade. Experts believe vehicular traffic is the main reason behind this.

“When you have to drive during peak traffic hours, stopping again and again and driving only in 4-5 km per hour speed, we have conducted an emission count for that time and it jumps seven to eight times. Here the pollution level is equal to that in Delhi,” said Ashok Datar, a Transport Analyst.

Solutions like carpools and improving frequency of public transport could avert further damage, experts say.

Mumbai being a coastal city has an edge over Delhi when it comes to keeping a check on the pollution levels because breeze from the sea disperses air pollution. But, experts But experts are now asking, how much more can the sea take in before it reaches its saturation level?