Sixty nine percent of citizens in Delhi say the odd-even vehicle rule cannot be implemented effectively from January 1, 2016, while sixty one percent citizens believe the rule will result in an increase in the number of cars plying on the roads of the national capital.
According to a survey carried out by LocalCircles, India's leading citizen engagement platform, over 9,000 to 10,000 citizens responded to each one of the poll questions.
The survey provides a collective pulse of what the citizens of Delhi have to say about the odd-even rule and what are some of the other things that must be implemented before it is implemented to reduce pollution in Delhi.
Among the other the key findings are that 74 percent of citizens support the ban on registration of new diesel cars in Delhi;78 percent support the ban on registration renewal of more than 10-year-old cars in Delhi and citizens are split even on implementing this rule in a limited area of Delhi on a pilot basis
More importantly, citizens believe that there are a number of things that can be done before the government must do before it implements odd-even rule. Here are the collective inputs from over 100,000 citizens of Delhi on the subject of immediate actions to reduce pollution:
All diesel commercial vehicles older than 10 years must be banned in Delhi. Plying of such vehicles from outside the state has to be managed by Delhi Traffic Police by setting up proper checkpoints into entry into Delhi. This has to be done wisely to avoid congestions.
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Delhi Government should work with the Haryana Government to complete the under construction Kundli-Manesar-Palwal by pass on a priority basis. Most of the civil work on this by pass has been completed and it will divert a bulk of traffic whose final destination is not Delhi.
Delhi government should work actively with UP government for completing Kundli -Ghaziabad -Palwal high the work on which has not even started fully. This is an important by pass and if it is not completed then the Supreme Court's decision on commercial vehicle diversion can also not be implemented fully.
A practical suggestion is that petrol pumps should be instructed to check the PUC certificate before giving petrol/diesel. This used to be the norm, but is not followed by petrol pumps.
Delhi Police should impound vehicles having dangerous level of pollution.
Open burning of garbage, dry leaves, rubber, synthetic clothes etc. should be made a criminal offence with a fine of Rs. 5000. Any one booked thrice for same punishable act to be liable to imprisonment for 30 days or a fine of Rs. 50,000 or both
Cleaning of roads with brooms should be stopped and mechanized cleaning should be deployed to prevent the dust from spreading in the air
Open trucks carrying construction material should be banned. They should be strictly asked to cover them so dust does not fly outside
Construction sites should be ordered to cover themselves from all sides and heavy penalty should be imposed if not covered.
Permanent rain guns/sprinklers should be installed to keep top cover of all landfill sites within NCR of Delhi moist to prevent dust from flying around
Mist nozzles/water sprinklers should be mandatorily fitted on top of commercial buildings to spray water for 15 to 30 minutes before sun rise to enable the particulate matter to become heavy and settle down
Bursting of Crackers/fireworks in private functions should be banned.