CAG report on Delhi pollution: Delhi's worsening air pollution has been aggravated by several lapses in its pollution control mechanisms, including irregularities in the issuance of Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates, unreliable air quality monitoring systems, and poor enforcement of pollution control measures, according to a CAG report presented in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.
The report on 'Vehicular Air Pollution in Delhi' was tabled by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta today. This was one of the 14 pending CAG reports from the past two years. Three of these reports have already been tabled, including those related to the liquor excise policy and health.
Notably, the air quality in Delhi remained 'Poor' to 'Severe' for 1,195 out of 2,137 days (56 per cent) from May 2015 to March 2021. This Audit focused on vehicular pollution to assess whether GNCTD has taken adequate steps to prevent and mitigate vehicular emissions that affect air quality in Delhi.
Major findings of the Performance Audit are given below:
Air Quality Monitoring System
The locations of Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) did not comply with the guidelines set by the Central Pollution Control Board, suggesting potential inaccuracies in the data generated by them, which renders the Air Quality Index values unreliable.
Requisite data regarding the concentration of pollutants in the air for a minimum of 16 hours in a day were not available with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) for proper air quality monitoring. DPCC was also not measuring levels of Lead (Pb) in Delhi's ambient air.
The Delhi government did not have real-time information regarding sources of pollutants as it did not conduct any study on this subject.
In the absence of any information regarding the type and number of vehicles plying Delhi roads and assessment of their emission load, the government was not in a position to identify emissions from different types of vehicles that are generating significant concentrations of pollutants for framing source-wise strategies.
The government neither monitored Benzene levels at the fuel stations (major source), nor followed-up on the installation of a Vapour Recovery System at fuel stations. As per the report, reduce Benzene emission though benzene levels remained higher than permissible limits at 10 out of 24 monitoring stations.
Public Transport System
The report flagged that there was a shortage of public transport buses, with only 6,750 buses available against a re-assessed requirement of 9,000 buses. The public bus transport system also suffered from a significant number of DTC buses remaining off-road, short coverage of bus routes, and not rationalising bus routes.
"Though there was an estimated increase of 17 per cent in the population of Delhi since 2011, the number of registered Gramin-Sewa vehicles, which provide last-mile connectivity, remained the same at 6,153 since May 2011. Even these Gramin-Sewa vehicles were 10 years old, which may have poor fuel efficiency and higher potency to cause pollution," the report said.
In spite of the shortage of public transport buses, GNCTD did not take any action to implement its alternatives, viz. 'Monorail and Light Rail Transit' and 'Electronic Trolley Buses', even after keeping budget provision for the last seven years.
Cleaner Transport- Prevention and Enforcement Strategies
As per the CAG report, public transport buses were not being subjected to emission tests twice a month as required under the directions of the National Green Tribunal. Similarly, out of 6153 Gramin-Sewa vehicles, only 3,476 vehicles got the testing done, and that too, only once from April 2019 to March 2020, against four required during this period.
There were irregularities in issuing Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCCs) to vehicles. In respect to 22.14 lakh diesel vehicles checked at Pollution Checking Centres (PCCs) during the period from August 10, 2015, to August 31, 2020, test values were not recorded in 24% of vehicles.
There were irregularities in issuing Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCCs) to vehicles/ With respect to 22.14 lakh diesel vehicles checked at Pollution Checking Centres (PCCs) during the period 10 August 2015 to 31 August 2020, test values were not recorded in respect of 24 per cent of vehicles. In 4,007 cases, even though the test values were beyond the permissible range, these diesel vehicles were declared 'Pass' and issued PUCCs. As per the PUC database for 10 August 2015 to 31 August 2020, 65.36 lakh Petrol/CNG/LPG vehicles were issued PUCCs. However, 1.08 lakh vehicles were declared 'Pass' and issued PUCC despite emitting carbon monoxide/hydrocarbon (CO/HC) beyond the permissible limits.
In 7,643 cases, more than one vehicle was shown to have been checked for emission limits at the same time at the same centre. 76,865 cases were noticed in the same test centre, wherein only one minute lapsed in checking the vehicle and issuing the PUC certificate, which may not have been practically possible.
In the absence of linkage of PUCC data with VAHAN database, PCCs manually select the BS Category of the vehicle leaving scope for manipulation of emission standards as well as validity of PUCC.
The government or any third-party audits did not inspect Pollution Control Centers (PCCs) to ensure quality control. Some PCCs that issued Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCCs) to vehicles were later found to be emitting visible smoke, and there was no inspection to verify the proper functioning of their instruments. Additionally, the government lacked a system to ensure regular calibration of the pollution-checking equipment.
Modern technology for checking vehicular pollution through remote sensing devices was also not adopted, though it was under consideration since 2009, and the Supreme Court emphasised it repeatedly.
Cleaner Transport - Mitigation and Promotion Strategies
In spite of providing financial and other incentives to encourage the adoption of Electric Vehicles (EV), the number of EVs registered in Delhi increased insignificantly. Further, the availability of charging facilities was also limited and not evenly distributed.
The government failed to make significant efforts to promote and facilitate non-motorized transport in Delhi.
The Graded Response Action Plan, which includes measures such as the Odd-Even Scheme and restricting truck entry into Delhi during high pollution periods, was not implemented on most occasions when pollution levels were elevated. Additionally, the government did not take necessary steps to reduce air pollution by developing Inter-State Bus Terminals (ISBTs) at Delhi's entry points to keep diesel-powered inter-state buses at the city's periphery, which could have prevented Delhi from becoming a trans-shipment hub for other states. Furthermore, it failed to relocate Inland Container Depots outside Delhi.
The government did not take any action to implement the Delhi Management and Parking Places Rules, 2019, which aimed to avoid vehicle stagnation and traffic congestion due to haphazard parking. It also did not link the granting/renewal of transport permits to vehicles with the availability of parking space, as envisaged under the Rules.
There were undue delays in removing stalled public transport buses from roads, which caused traffic congestion and higher vehicle emissions.
(With agencies input)
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