Bengaluru: Dark smoke belching out of vehicles and motorists honking incessantly are all a part and parcel of the madness on roads in the city. But in the process it is paying a heavy price. In the last few months it has seen a significant rise in air pollution placing the health of Bengalureans at risk.
Disturbingly, the Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) is four times higher than the national permissible limit in some parts of the city. While the area around Victoria Hospital has a 164 microgram per cubic meters RSPM level, the immediate surroundings of NIMHANS have recorded a 79 microgram per cubic meters RSPM level. The reading for the Graphite India neighbourhood is 159 and the KHB Industrial Area, Yelahanka, 104. Silkboard Junction that sees huge vehicular movement has a 256 microgram per cubic meter RSPM level and AMCO Batteries, Mysore Road, a staggering 264.
Pulled by the High Court for doing very little to curb air and noise pollution, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board came out with a series of directions on August 25 to deal with the problem. Exercising its powers under the Karnataka Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules, 1983, it directed the state transport department to restrict registration of new vehicles in the city till the noise pollution subsided and air quality standards were met. It also asked that autorickshaws be banned from the Central Business District in a phased manner. But the transport department stuck to its guns saying it was impossible to stop registration of new vehicles on the grounds of air pollution.
Clearly, angered by the response, KSPCB chairman, Vaman Acharya says he has come out with 32 directions and they will have to be implemented or alternatives found.
“My directives are final and the transport department has to execute them. We asked the government to plant one crore saplings in two months, but it could not even do that. If my directives are not carried out, we will have to approach the court again,” he warns. Among the many suggestions of the KSPCB are a ban on heavy motor vehicles entering Outer Ring Road and beyond, a ban on two-stroke vehicles, use of CNG in BMTC and KSRTC buses, a ban on HTC that are more than 15 years old in BBMP limits, auditing of all emission checking centers, a Rs 1000 fine for violation of emission norms and suspension of registration certificates for repeated emission violations.
In line with the comprehensive development plan which had years ago called for a clear demarcation of commercial and residential areas, the board too has asked the government not to mix zones in the city. Environmentalist, Suresh Heblikar who was a member of the panel that drew up the comprehensive development plan around five years ago recalls it had suggested that commercial, essential and residential areas should remain separate. “For instance, we have a shopping complex in Jayanagar, so let all the shops, hotels and bars come up in and around it. Let people go to one place for shopping and all vehicles go to one area rather than pollute the entire city. But today we have all kinds of commercial establishments cropping up in residential areas. We are in talks with the transport department and will shortly launch a campaign against air and noise pollution. We are looking for car-free days twice a week, sensitising auto drivers and more planting of trees.”
‘20 to 30 lakh saplings must to check rising pollution’
The loss of green cover – which fell from 72 per cent to 21 per cent over the last decade - is also making a huge contribution to rising pollution levels in the city. With Bengaluru now left with just 14, 78,418 trees, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board ( KSPCB) has directed the BBMP to come up with an extensive afforestation plan.
While the civic agency has planted six lakhs saplings over the last four years, KSPCB chief, Vaman Acharya says it should plant at least 20 to 30 lakh saplings a year. He believes there should be at least one tree per person in the city, and regrets it has only 0.1 tree per person today.
The problem continues to grow as roughly 5,000 trees in the city are removed every year from private properties and for infrastructure projects. This year alone over 2000 trees have already been felled. Chief conservator of forests, Brijesh, however, says the BBMP is committed to planting more seedlings and this year 1.2 lakh have already been planted.
CNG buses yet to become a reality
The pollution control board is keen on BMTC buses running on CNG, a cleaner fuel, in the interest of curbing air polluiton.
A few months ago the BMTC wrote to the Union ministry of urban development (MOUD) to sanction 400 CNG buses under JNNURM and claims to have received a positive response. Says Mr Kumar Pushkar, Director (IT), BMTC, “We have received positive feedback from the ministry. The MD of BMTC had a long meeting with it and it went fine. However, the number of buses may not be 400, but less.” As things stand today, 50 percent of the cost of procurement will be borne by the BMTC, 35 per cent by the Union government and 15 per cent by the state.
The transport corporation,which has done a survey and identified the Pennya and Yelahanka depots for the project, will go ahead with buying the CNG buses once the proposal is approved by the MOUD.
CNG bunks could also be established in two depots for the new buses. The present BS4 buses that are eco-friendly, are reportedly doing quite well in the city.
