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Last year, I visited my home in Delhi for Diwali, and I captured this view from the terrace. It was around five days later Diwali.I felt pity for my city.This, a year old sight of Delhi is enough for me to make a judgement and it will hardly take any of my time and effort, but there is more to this answer.I remember the court orders in 1996 and then in 2000 for closure or relocations of industries that were operating in Delhi; there was a lot of cry over this judgement since thousands of people were loosing their livelihood. Reason cited -to make Delhi pollution free. Fair enough. It was in 2000 only, when Delhi government switched its road transport system from diesel to a much cleaner fuel-CNG. Delhi is running on Bharat Stage (BS)-3 norm since 2005. Then came the Metro in 2002 that is fully operational since 2011.Despite all these efforts, Delhi is still chocking, worse than ever before.Annual Average Trends for major pollutants SO2, NO2 ((vehicular emission, refineries) and PM10 (includes PM2.5) (vehicular emission, soil and road dust, coal and fly ash) since 2009 is shown with comparison to acceptable limits as suggested by NAAQS [1] ,Thanks to implementation of stringent BS norms and CNG transport, SO2 is within acceptable limit. But, NO2 and PM are dangerously beyond the limits.Why Delhi is so polluted as it is right now?Number of vehicles in Delhi has doubled since 2005. It has highest numbers of vehicles with count almost double to that of Chennai and more than 3 times to that of Mumbai[2] .Unlike Mumbai and Chennai that enjoy natural ventilation from their seas, Delhi-a land locked city shares its border with industrial and commercial hubs that add nothing but more pollution to its air.These hubs, beside Delhi’s own traffic, add some serious to and fro traffic plying from each and every corner of NCR. Add to this, even more dangerous diesel trucks that are feeding in and feeding out to these industries. Add to these, electric power plants in and nearby Delhi and they are many.Climate- Delhi seems to be more polluted in winters than in summers. Winters in Delhi are dry, with low flow of air near the surface. Hot air acts as a lid over cold air with no passage for pollutants to disperse. I won’t blame winters, this is what I like the most about Delhi.Enormous construction activities, be it the Delhi Metro or Real Estates in its neighbourhood. The dust has settled but it has never moved out yet from Delhi.It seems as if both nature and man have conspired for the present situation of Delhi or Is it a planned mismanagement?Let’s analyse what happened to Delhi last year during Diwali.It’s evident[3] that PM concentration was on continuos rise from 26.10.16 with peak on the next day of Diwali i.e. 31.10.16. Surprisingly, the wind speed was following the reverse trend and that was one of the main reason behind what we saw. Even the nature is against Delhi.Delhiites are breathing polluted air -four times more than acceptable-each and every day for many years and no one bates an eye, and when it shoots to double for a day, people go crazy.A fan of Joker.Problem with people is that they don’t consider ‘a problem’ a problem unless the problem is personal and visible.And this is what happened last Diwali, it became visible.No, I haven’t lost the track of answer this question, an opinion sans facts is vague.Vide the judgement of banning firecrackers, SC seeks a breathable Diwali day. Ok, what about rest of the days?Even I am not an advocate of firecrackers, but holding them sole responsible for pollution and banning them for a festival is not I am in support of and I am in partial agreement of CB tweet in response to SC judgement except his comparison to other festivals.In future, there may be a ban on lighting also, after all 60% of our electricity comes from coal based power plants.This is current AQI[4] of Delhi,Are the advocates of ban sleeping right now?Footnotes[1] CPCB ENVIS| Control of Pollution Water, Air and Noise[2] Bengaluru retains second place after Delhi with most vehicles on roads - Times of India[3] http://safar.tropmet.res.in/[4] http://safar.tropmet.res.in/

Universal adoption is not a clear aspect here. Many countries adopted features of the ACT and four regulatory programs the Act initiated:1 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS or knacks)2 State Implementation Plans3 New Source Performance Standards4 National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs)Another thing to note is the Act covered the entire USA but left the implementation to States due to the unique challenges faced by each state. In USA, it has ensured that vehicles start focusing on efficiency as much as they did on producing big power.

Hii Nishit , interesting questions brother. The simple answer is YES but only when the company optimize their vechiles.WHY?The current vehicles that are powered by gasoline pollute, but as technologies improve and the human way of life changes alternatively powered vehicles enter the automotive industry. These vehicles developed to achieve better gas mileage and to help slow the production of the gasses that cause Global Warming. The hybrid vehicle is one of the newest and most popular alternatively powered vehicles. Hybrid electric vehicles are energy efficient cars or trucks that run on an internal combustion engine of a gas vehicle with the battery and electric motor of an electric vehicle. This results in twice the fuel economy of gas vehicles. These hybrid electric vehicles consume fewer natural resources than gas vehicles and produce almost no emission fumes compared to the standard gas vehicle.Hybrid cars are one solution to preserving air quality for the future. Hybrid electric cars were created because of the shortfall in battery technology. The batteries that were being made could not produce enough power. These batteries would not sustain long trips with the car. To work around this and onboard generator, powered by an internal combustion engine could be used for long trips. These cars became known as hybrid electric vehicles that are now being mass-produced by companies like Toyota and Honda.The hybrid cars greatest advantage is that they almost release zero emissions into the atmosphere. These cars use their brakes to regenerate power to the batteries. When the car is slowing down it takes the energy being released when slowing the car down. The result is a use of energy that does not require the car to be plugged in. The cars reduce the dependency on fossil fuels because they are run on alternative fuels.Hydrogen as Future Fuel-Hydrogen is seen as one of the important energy vectors of this century. Hydrogen as an energy carrier provides the potential for a sustainable development particularly in the transportation sector. A hydrogen fuelled engine has the potential for substantially cleaner emissions than other internal combustion engines. Other benefits arise from the wide flammability limits and the high flame propagation speed, both allowing better efficiency.Hydrogen is the most plentiful and ubiquitous substance in the universe, representing about half of all matter, and it is everywhere—in the rocks and soil, in the air and especially in the water that covers three quarters of the globe.Hydrogen is a gas at normal temperatures. It is highly reactive, combining readily with a number of elements and compounds, the most familiar example being oxygen to form water (H20). The 2H O = H20 (hydrogen plus oxygen equals water) combustion reaction is highly charged, explosive, producing a great deal of heat as a by product, thus making hydrogen a true competitor with fossil fuels as a source of power.The same reactive quality that makes hydrogen a good fuel source, however, also makes free hydrogen rare in nature—it is almost always found bound to other chemicals. One of the challenges, then, of moving to a hydrogen energy regime is to develop economical ways of freeing hydrogen from the chemicals to which it is bonded so it can be used as a fuel, then returned to nature.While there are many compounds containing hydrogen and, thus, many methods for its extraction—too many to go into here—the ideal, and certainly most universally available source is water itself. Extracting hydrogen from water is simple enough, in principle, through a technique known as electrolysis in which an electrical current is passed through water breaking down its molecules into their component hydrogen and oxygen ions, both of which can be put to various uses.The only problem with the water-to-water scenario is that electrolysis, at present, is expensive—hydrogen currently costs about three times as much as it’s fossil fuel competitors. This is mostly a problem of scale, however. As more and more hydrogen fuel applications come on line and the demand increases, mass produced hydrogen costs will drop. Another aspect of the problem, though, is that the cost of electricity for electrolysis is increasing, and most electricity, as discussed above, is produced by environmentally degrading technologies such as coal fired and nuclear power plants or hydroelectric dams.The hydrogen revolution is, at the moment, at a chicken-and-egg impasse.Other than a few well-developed, operating prototypes, there are practically hydrogen powered vehicles, machinery or buildings. There is therefore little demand for hydrogen other than for industrial purposes, and it is not available to the average consumer. On the other hand, hydrogen powered equipment is not likely to appear until hydrogen for refuelling is readily available.The big breakthrough in hydrogen fuel research and development over the past two decades has been the development of an electric hydrogen fuel cell engine. Internal combustion engines are still noisy, full of working parts that can break down and limited in their scope of application—they can only get so big or so little. Most importantly, they are of limited efficiency, converting, at best, about 40 per cent of the fuel’s potential energy into work.Electric HFCs have none of those limitations. Using hydrogen to generate electricity within a box that resembles a battery, the HFC is quiet, has no working parts and converts a whopping 60 to 80 percent of its fuel’s energy into work. The HFC’s potential scope of application is vast, ranging from tiny flashlight batteries to units capable of powering ships.Ø India’s Energy Security is threatened by Our Dependence on Foreign Oil:· India imports a large percent of the oil it consumes; that is expected to grow in the near future.· Nearly all of our cars and trucks run on gasoline, and they are the main reason India imports so much oil.Ø Hydrogen fuel Will Help Ensure India’s Energy Independence :· Through the hydrogen fuel initiative the automakers and energy companies will work together to overcome the technological and financial barriers to the successful development of commercially viable, emissions-free vehicles that require no foreign oil federal government,· Hydrogen is domestically available in abundant quantities as a component of natural gas, coal, biomass, and even water.Ø Fuel Cells Will Improve Air Quality and Dramatically Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions :· Vehicles are a significant source of air pollution in India’s cities and urban areas. Hydrogen fuel cells create electricity to power cars without any pollution and cars using hydrogen as fuel reduce the content of harmful pollutants by large amount.· The hydrogen fuel initiatives may reduce India’s greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. Other emissions reductions could be achieved by using fuel cells in applications such as generating electricity for residential or commercial uses.Ø Hydrogen is the Key to a Clean Energy Future:· It has the highest energy content per unit of weight of any known fuel.· When burned in an engine, hydrogen produces effectively zero emissions; when powering a fuel cell, its only waste is water.· Hydrogen can be produced from abundant domestic resources including natural gas, coal, biomass, and even water.· Combined with other technologies such as carbon capture and storage,renewable energy and fusion energy, fuel cells could make an emissions-freeenergy future possible.Legal Provisions-The Central and State Pollution Control Boards were set up for enforcement of the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. Over the years, the Boards have been assigned additional responsibilities which include the following:Ø Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977.Ø Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.Ø Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and Rules made there under.Ø Hazardous Waste (Management & Handling) Rules1989.Ø Manufacture, storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989.Ø Bio-medical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 1998Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2000.Ø Plastics wastes Rules, 1999.Ø Coastal Regulation Zone Rules, 1991.Ø Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991.ENVIRONMENTAL (PROTECTION) ACT, 1986-The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 was introduced as an umbrella legislation that provides a holistic framework for the protection and improvement to the environment.In terms of responsibilities, the Act and the associated Rules requires for obtaining environmental clearances for specific types of new / expansion projects (addressed under Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 1994) and for submission of an environmental statement to the State Pollution Control Board annually. Environmental clearance is not applicable to hydro projects also.SJVNL undertakes Environmental Impact Assessment for all projects as a standard management procedure as laid down in The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and also functions within permissible standards of ambient air quality and noise levels as prescribed by national laws and international regulations.AIR (PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF POLLUTION) ACT, 1981-The objective of this Act is to provide for the prevention, control and abatement of air pollution, for the establishment, with a view to carrying out the aforesaid purposes, of Boards, for conferring on and assigning to such Boards powers and functions relating thereto and for matters connected therewith.Decisions were taken at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in June 1972, in which India participated, to take appropriate steps for the preservation of the natural resources of the earth which, among other things, includes the preservation of the quality of air and control of air pollution.Therefore it is considered necessary to implement the decisions foresaid in so far as they relate to the preservation of the quality of air and control of air pollution.To counter the problems associated with air pollution, ambient air quality standards were established, under the 1981 Act. The Act provides means for the control and abatement of air pollution. The Act seeks to combat air pollution by prohibiting the use of polluting fuels and substances, as well as by regulating appliances that give rise to air pollution. Under the Act establishing or operating of any industrial plant in the pollution control area requires consent from state boards. The boards are also expected to test the air in air pollution control areas, inspect pollution control equipment, and manufacturing processes.National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for major pollutants were notified by the CPCB in April 1994. These are deemed to be levels of air quality necessary with an adequate margin of safety, to protect public health, vegetation and property (CPCB 1995 cited in Gupta, 1999). The NAAQS prescribe specific standards for industrial, residential, rural and other sensitive areas. Industry-specific emission standards have also been developed for iron and steel plants, cement plants, fertilizer plants, oil refineries and the aluminium industry. The ambient quality standards prescribed in India are similar to those prevailing in many developed and developing countries.To empower the central and state pollution boards to meet grave emergencies, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act, 1987, was enacted. The boards were authorized to take immediate measures to tackle such emergencies and recover the expenses incurred from the offenders. The power to cancel consent for non-fulfilment of the conditions prescribed has also been emphasized in the Air Act Amendment.The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules formulated in 1982, defined the procedures for conducting meetings of the boards, the powers of the presiding officers, decision-making, the quorum; manner in which the records of the meeting were to be set etc. They also prescribed the manner and the purpose of seeking assistance from specialists and the fee to be paid to them.Complementing the above Acts is the Atomic Energy Act of 1982, which was introduced to deal with radioactive waste. In 1988, the Motor Vehicles Act was enacted to regulate vehicular traffic, besides ensuring proper packaging, labelling and transportation of the hazardous wastes. Various aspects of vehicular pollution have also been notified under the EPA of 1986. Mass emission standards were notified in 1990, which were made more stringent in 1996. In 2000 these standards were revised yet again and for the first time separate obligations for vehicle owners, manufacturers and enforcing agencies were stipulated. In addition, fairly stringent Euro I and II emission norms were notified by the Supreme Court on April 29, 1999 for the city of Delhi. The notification made it mandatory for car manufacturers to conform to the Euro I and Euro II norms by May 1999 and April 2000, respectively, for new non-commercial vehicle sold in Delhi.If any query please comment or inboxSandeep Chatterjee