Delhi and the CNG Muddle

A major development that has gripped the attention of the public in Delhi and the rest of India is the changeover to the use of CNG (compressed natural gas) for a very large number of vehicles in the Capital, with effect from the 1 April 2001. Air pollution in Delhi has reached alarming proportions, and in response to several expressions of extreme dissatisfaction with the way various government departments both at the Centre and in the states had dealt with this problem, the Supreme Court of India has stepped in and appointed the Bhure Lal Committee to advise the Court on actions that the Government must take to improve air quality to acceptable levels. The result has been the selection of CNG as the preferred fuel for the bulk of the city?s public transport system. CNG is a clean fuel and brings substantial environmental benefits but there are huge costs involved in establishing infrastructure to make CNG available at the retail level. Even more important is whether it would be a technologically appropriate option given Delhi?s traffic conditions and in context of the construction of several fly-overs. These buses might have difficulty going over inclines, since under specific conditions, such as overloading which is endemic in Delhi?s buses, CNG vehicles suffer considerable loss of power. Most countries in the world have now moved or are moving towards the use of ULSD (ultra low sulphur diesel). An extensive trial carried out in the city of London indicated that not only are emissions lower with ULSD compared to CNG, but the costs associated with ULSD are also much lower. Another pertinent issue in the choice of fuels for Delhi buses is its applicability to other cities, such as Bombay, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, etc. It is far more enlightened for the Government to come up with a fuel choice suitable for the whole country than to treat Delhi as an isolated case. Even if the implementation of infrastructure for CNG and the changeover to buses suitable for this fuel does take place as desired, it would be impossible to duplicate it in the other cities, which may not have access to natural gas supply for a long period of time. A major issue that has not been considered is the effect of all the higher costs associated with CNG on the average consumer, who would have to pay much higher fares for the same services. As yet, little information has been brought to the attention of the public on how the increased costs associated with the CNG option would impact on bus fares for different consumer categories. It is unfortunate that expert advice in this entire approach has been closed and confined only to the knowledge and wisdom of one or two individuals. A more enlightened and certainly a more democratic approach would have been for the Bhure Lal Committee to have sought inputs from a number of sources dealing with the issues pertinent to the decision, and to have learned from the experiences of other nations. It is hoped that the fuel choices neglected thus far will be considered objectively while proceeding further in improving Delhi?s air quality. A much larger issue not tackled thus far is what type of public transport system Delhi should establish and the manner in which it should be managed. This involves considerations far beyond mere fuel choices. Thirty years ago a significant share of the city?s commuters used bicycles; a large volume of pedestrians also existed. Even today, the city of Amsterdam has over two million persons using bicycles or the pedestrian mode daily. In Delhi, there are no bicycle/pedestrian paths that are safe from the unruly and undisciplined ways of the operators of motorized transport. It is essential to create separate facilities along the roads and make them safe and efficient for bicyclists and pedestrians to use in larger numbers. The effect would be a reduction in air pollution. It is also essential to enhance the city?s bus fleet, and to make it comfortable and faster. Coupled with well-planned park and ride systems, improvements in the quality of service provided by buses could attract several users of personalized transport to shift to public transport, leading to an overall improvement in air quality. In coming months, with the prospect of reduced number of buses in Delhi, a likely shift to greater use of personalized vehicles might actually result in greater air pollution. But we need to plan beyond the next six months and deal with the overall expansion of Delhi?s public transport. The current attention on the CNG muddle should not obscure the much bigger challenge of providing the citizens of Delhi a better, safer, and adequate public transport system that is also environmentally superior.