Background
When the State Government of Delhi declared the city a gas chamber on November 7, 2017, nobody knew that it was also making efforts to address the situation. With the Air Quality Index of 1010 (on November 8, 2017, 8 PM), United Airlines cancelled its flights to Delhi; however, the city’s own residents had no other option but to breath in the air which was equal to smoking 50 cigarettes in a day and affected their health.
The growing trajectory of population in the national capital region is contributing to the air pollution. The purchase of conventional internal combustion engine vehicles and their use to commute have led to significant increase in air pollution. The number of registered vehicles crossed the mark of 1 crore in May 2017 in Delhi itself.
In addition, the city is accumulating 1400 vehicles daily in the abovementioned tally. Also, there are numerous uncounted vehicles not registered with Delhi’s regional traffic office and running on road fearlessly. Cross border traffic survey, conducted by Centre for Science and Environment, predicts that 5.7 lakh passenger and personal vehicles enter the capital on a daily basis. Though the State Government of Delhi tried twice to limit the traffic by using ‘Odd-Even Scheme’ in 2016, it could not take it forward due to a number of constraints.
Policymakers thought of this situation on the national level and launched the ‘National Electric Mobility Mission’ in 2013. Though this mission was designed to aim fuel security and was supported by FAME1 India Scheme for manufacturing of hybrid and electric vehicles in India, it also enabled citizens to realize the importance of electric vehicles in addressing air pollution and other climate concerns.
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