10. What initiatives were taken for reducing vehicular air pollution in Delhi? Has air quality improved in Delhi?
Delhi is considered to be one of the most polluted cities. The major reasons for Delhi being polluted include increased fossil fuel consumption, increased number of industries etc. The government has taken several steps to minimise vehicular air pollution. Some of these steps are as follows:
1. Introduction of CNG- The supreme court of India in the year 2006, to reduce air pollution, decided that all public transport such as buses, autos etc will have CNG i.e. compressed natural gas. This is a clean fuel that spreads less pollution.
2. Use of unleaded petrol and non-sulphur petrol and diesel.
3. Phasing out old vehicles because they cause more pollution.
4. Use of catalytic converters in automobiles.
5. Implementation of BHARAT stage I to control pollution levels
All these steps led to a reduction in the pollution levels in Delhi. The air quality has improved after this as there is a fall in carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide.