How fresh is the air we breathe?

Several new media have happily started reporting the air quality situation in different cities of the country. Several times the concentration of pollutants exceed the standards specified at an alarming level. Unfortunately, these have become mere statistics that neither the governments seem to be responding to nor the society at large. Delhi is one city that has seen maximum pollution related interventions in the country - phasing out of old vehicles, introduction of CNG, BRT system, huge investments in road infrastructure to ease congestion, etc. However, as reported recently, New Delhi has the world\'s worst air pollution. So, what are the key pollutants that are the causes of concern for urban residents? A significant contributor to urban air pollution is the transport sector. Despite the improvements in terms of vehicles and fuel quality over the years, the sheer increase in the number of vehicles has negated, to a large extent, the gains in terms of air quality. The total vehicles in the country have increased from 30 million in 1995 to 49 million in 2000 and further on to 73 million in 2004. Amongst these, the share of private vehicles (2 wheelers, cars, jeeps) is 83 percent. In sharp contrast, the share of buses is less than 1percent. This trend could be due to either one of the following two factors or a combination thereof: a preference for private ownership of vehicles or the absence of adequate, attractive public transport alternatives. The impact of such a rampant growth in the automobile sector for industry is interesting to analyse. On one hand, the automobile sector is a significant employment generator and driver of the economy. On the other hand, the externality costs to other industries and service sectors (not to mention civil society) can be equally high. In most socially clustered cities, as Indian cities are, the choice of transport mode is highly related to income. High income population in Indian cities are increasing their car dependency rapidly due to a combination of social elitism as also the fact that these areas are typically poorly served by public transport. Government\'s priorities too respond to the felt need of the poor for public transport systems. However, India has an opportunity to make a difference! The vehicle ownership level in India is still about a 100per thousand population as compared to nearly 900 in the US. Efficient and appropriate public transport options must be aggressively provided to India\'s people across all income classes-rather than emphasizing large scale flooding of the market with low cost motorized vehicles, including cars. As such, with their density of population, Indian cities need to aim for more attractive public transport options that need less road space and cause less pollution per passenger km. Under the National Urban Transport Policy, the central government promotes investments in public transport as well as measures that make its use more attractive. Allstate capitals as well as other cities with a population of more than one million are being encouraged to start planning for high capacity public transport systems through a system of incentives so\' that a sound basis for attracting private partners can be established. Industry in India needs to be an effective partner in greening the urban environment through such responsible participation. Apart from enhancing supply of green public transport capacities, they should also be in the forefront of creating a demand for battery operated and hybrid vehicles, car pooling regulations and arrangements, staggered office timings, etc.