CAQM calls for transition to cleaner vehicles in Delhi-NCR to combat air pollution – ET Auto

Delhi needs a more ambitious electric vehicle programme with clear time-bound regulatory targets for electrification.

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Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has issued an advisory, asking state govts, PSUs and public institutions in Delhi-NCR to switch from petrol or diesel vehicles to cleaner alternatives. CAQM emphasised that policies should be drawn to ensure that all future vehicles contribute to an accelerated roadmap for clean mobility.In a recent advisory to the chief secretaries of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan, CAQM said it needed no emphasis that the contribution of the transport sector to the overall air pollution load in the entire NCR was significantly and consistently high throughout the year. ‘Among various measures to curb vehicular pollution, the transition to cleaner mobility, preferably towards zero-emission vehicles like battery electric vehicles (BEV) and other such technologies that may develop in the future, assumes significant importance and needs to be accorded priority,’ said the advisory issued by CAQM member secretary Arvind Nautiyal.’While the concerns of vehicular emissions are universal, considering the ultra-high density of vehicular traffic, particularly in Delhi-NCR, there is a need to develop an accelerated roadmap for cleaner mobility, focusing on the transition from polluting vehicles dependent purely on fossil fuels like diesel and petrol,’ it added.

Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of research and advocacy at CSE, said, ‘Given the pollution crisis in the city and the high contribution of vehicular pollution, Delhi needs a more ambitious electric vehicle programme with clear time-bound regulatory targets for electrification. The mandate for zero tailpipe emissions needs to be sharper and stronger for govt and PSU-owned vehicles.’

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