Foreign students gasping for air in city, especially if they smoke: A recent study by Chest Research Foundation (CRF) has served a clear warning for foreign students in Pune, the 13th most polluted city in India — stay away from smoking. The study has shown a marked deterioration within a period of just six months, in the lung health of foreign students in Pune who smoke. Ladan Zarrabi and Narsis Kroupi from Iran, two students at a city-based varsity, decided to take up the study because they suffered respiratory problems when they came to Pune. “These problems made us think more about air pollution and its effects on the respiratory system, particularly in foreign students like us,” they said. They conducted the study under the guidance of Dr Sundeep Salvi and Dr Sneha Limaye of CRF. A simple diagnostic test conducted by spirometry indicated major deterioration in lung function, corroborating the reported worsening of symptoms. Spriometry is a definitive test to assess the health of the airways and the lungs. Within the study duration of six months, there was a jump of more than 30 per cent in cough among smokers, while the average increase was only about 10 per cent among nonsmokers. The other symptoms recorded included a runny or blocked nose, irritation in the eyes, breathlessness, wheezing and chest pain. The researchers recruited 100 foreign students from different colleges in Pune, who had come to India not more than three months before the study began on August 1, 2007. In the first phase, they used a detailed questionnaire and spirometry tests to gather respiratory health data of the students. In the second phase, after six months, the same tools were used to measure the changes. The non-smokers demonstrated only a significant worsening in runny nose, accompanied by a small, but significant decrease in peak expiratory flow (PEF) parameters, indicating large airway obstruction. According to the researchers, the increase in runny nose could be due to viral infections or the effects of air pollutants on the nasal mucosa. Salvi, felt that there was a need for more long-term studies to arrive at more conclusive findings.
Source: The Indian Express, Pune, August 28, 2008.
Source: The Telegraph, Kolkata, April 26, 2008.
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technology |
Oil majors against pricing policy change: State owned oil majors don't want the petroleum product pricing model to be changed from trade parity to base export parity model as recommended by a high-power committee on fuel pricing, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora was told here on Tuesday. At an oil companies CEOs' conclave chaired by Deora, the oil majors made it clear they are "uncomfortable with moving from state parity to export parity model", petroleum secretary R S Pandey told reporters after the meet. Trade parity is a mix of import parity and export parity prices, with more weightage given to the former. Under import parity, oil price will be equal to the world price plus transport, tariff and other costs the customer would bear if importing. But under the export parity model, as proposed by the B K Chatruvedi committee on fuel pricing, the price is set equal to global rates, minus any transport, tariff (in the destination market) and any other costs the supplier would incur if exporting. Indian Oil Corp chairman Sarthak Behuria said among other disadvantages, standalone refineries would suffer losses under the export parity model. The oil companies also did not favour recommendations for monthly price revisions and windfall tax. ONGC chairman R S Sharma said he supported a free and transparent system of deciding the share of the burden of under-recoveries. "The current system is too ad hoc and poses problems during tax calculation," he said. At the meeting, Deora said petroleum products should be "priced in a consistent manner under a long term policy". "It is also essential that economic pricing is blended with social responsibility so that the oil sector continues to function and service the oil needs of the economy," he added.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi, August 19, 2008.
Govt, oil cos bury Chaturvedi panel report: The main recommendations of the high powered Chaturvedi committee on financial health of oil companies may not see the light of day. While the proposal to gradually increase fuel prices is unlikely to pass the political muster, the suggestions on export-parity pricing mechanism, special oil tax, zero import duty and differential pricing of petrol and diesel at the retail level have been considered impractical at a meeting between petroleum ministry officials and public sector oil companies’ CEOs. Briefing newspersons after the close-door meeting, petroleum minister Murli Deora said a formal view on recommendations of the Chaturvedi committee would be taken soon after stakeholders, including oil PSUs, submit comments in writing. Official sources said the government can ill-afford to implement the committee’s recommendation of raising petrol prices by Rs 2.50 per litre every month till March 2009 and diesel by Re 0.75 per litre till 2010. “The move is inflationary and can’t be accepted, especially at a time when the government is preparing for the general elections,” an official said. Commenting on the panel’s Metro Extra proposal to charge Rs 2 per litre on diesel for sports utility vehicles, Mr Deora said, “Dual pricing mechanism is difficult to implement.” He, however, stressed on the need to discourage the use of fuel-guzzlers. “One way is to increase duties on such vehicles,” he said. It is learnt the oil PSUs are against the proposed shift in methodology for calculating fuel prices, from trade-parity pricing to export-parity pricing. The suggested change would lead to Rs 27,000 crore revenue loss for refineries. “Public sector oil marketing companies must maintain good refining margins to cross-subsidise fuel at the retail level,” an oil company official said. The oil companies also raised their voice against the proposal to reduce import duty on petrol and diesel to zero as this would reduce duty protection to the domestic refineries vis-à-vis international refiners. The committee’s proposal to impose a special oil tax on oil produced from pre-Nelp blocks also failed to gain ground in the meeting.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi, August 20, 2008.
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Ahmedabad riding high on clean fuel: Thanks to compressed natural gas (CNG), Gujarat's commercial capital is now the 50th most polluted city in India, down from fourth. Just a couple of years ago, few residents of Ahmedabad knew the acronym. But now every child knows he can breathe easier because 37,733 autorickshaws have converted from petrol to CNG. "Ahmedabad provides the ideal model of how use of clean fuels can make life healthier," says Sanjiv Tyagi, an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer who is the member-secretary of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) and one of those responsible for bringing "hill station quality" air to this city. One of the most positive fallouts of the conversion by autorickshaws has been on the grading of Ahmedabad on the National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP) of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) that monitors the ambient air quality in 85 cities. In 2001, Ahmedabad was India's fourth most polluted city with 198 micrograms of RSPM (Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter) in every cubic metre of air. In 2002, the RSPM came down to 166 micrograms per cubic metre, in 2003 to 136. By 2006, it had come down to 96, by 2007 to 82. "We are targeting the standard of 60 RSPM. I am not making any predictions but trends till May 2008 suggest that we may be on target," Tyagi says. As elsewhere, it was not easy to convince the autorickshaw drivers to make the change. A state-government incentive of Rs.10,000 helped. That was the carrot. The stick was the threat by the regional transport officer that no petrol-driven autorickshaw would be allowed on the streets after January 1, 2007. All this, plus the fact that CNG is much cheaper than petrol did the trick. Now other cities want to follow the Ahmedabad model. After the autorickshaws, it was the turn of the buses. The Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) has converted 610 of its 1,010-strong fleet from diesel to CNG while the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) has converted all the 155 it runs in Ahmedabad.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi, August 10, 2008.
CNG running low, govt targets illegal conversion kits: With Delhi facing a major crunch in the supply of compressed natural gas (CNG) over the last few months, the transport department has decided to crack down on grey markets providing cheap — and often unsafe — CNG conversion kits. The last few years have seen a tremendous rise in the number of private vehicles switching to CNG — a far cheaper alternative to petrol and diesel. This, in turn, has led to the mushrooming of unauthorised CNG kit providers. “A proper CNG conversion kit costs around Rs 30,000. In the grey market, they are available for around Rs 8,000,” said an official of the transport department. “While the owners of private and commercial vehicles are liable to be fined heavily if caught using sub-standard and unauthorised kits, we need to draw some guidelines to curb the grey market,” said the official. “We need to tackle the issue step by step. First we need to inform the public who the authorised dealers are and that to ensure safety, they need to use authorised kits. Then we can take punitive action,” he said. The department has already issued a list of 102 authorised suppliers of CNG kits. Only certified CNG kits —manufactured mainly in Gujarat or imported from Italy — can be installed by authorised dealers. The certification comes from the Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India. As of now, there are 164 filling stations that supply CNG for nearly 1,50,000 vehicles plying across Delhi and the National Capital Region. The gas is supplied by only one agency — Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) — which also supplies pipeline LPG for domestic use. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has assured that there will be 50 more CNG filling stations in the next couple of years. Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf said as of now, there are 58 DTC bus depots that double up as CNG filling stations for private vehicles. “We will be opening another 10-15 depots soon,” he added.
Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi, August 25, 2008.
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Biodiesel mission set to pull down shutters: The national mission on biodiesel appears to have been given a quiet burial with a group of ministers (GoM) shelving the programme even before it took off. The decision comes even as countries across the world debate whether diversion of farmland for biofuel led to the rally and shortage in food grains. Finance minister P Chidambaram had raised the issue of how farmland was being increasingly used to produce biofuel in the developed world leading to a shortfall in grain production. Biodiesel is a variant of the regular petroleum based diesel where the fuel is doped with a vegetable oil like oil extracted from jathropa. “The GoM has recommended that the national mission on biodiesel of the ministry of rural development need not be pursued further,” an official source close to the development said. The GoM, chaired by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, even rejected a modified proposal of the department of land resources (in the ministry of rural development) to launch the mission with reduced area and cost (for biofuel plantation). The national mission on biodiesel had envisaged to have almost 4 million hectares under biodiesel crops such as Jathropa and sweet Sorghum involving a total investment of Rs 1,400 crore. Sources said the mission was left mid-way as there was apprehension over the large acquisition of land by big energy majors. Companies across public and private sector have already rolled out plantations in about 3 lakh hectares of wasteland spread across the country. Insiders say the policy makers developed a cold feet fearing land grabbing by corporates in the garb of biofuel plantation.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi, August 4, 2008.
CII for mandatory blending of biofuels in petrol, diesel: CII has asked Government to make mixing of biofuels in petrol and diesel mandatory to cut the country's spiralling oil import bill. "A mandate should be put in place. The policy which proposes 5 per cent blending of ethanol in petrol is still not stabilised and we need a proper framework to do so," said CII National Committee on Biofuels Chairman Pramod Choudhary. Presently, petrol doped with 5 per cent ethanol extracted from sugarcane was being sold all over the country except in J&K, northeastern states and island territories and the quantity is proposed to be raised to 10 per cent from October. Besides, government had in October 2005 announced a biodiesel policy under which oil companies were to mix 5 per cent of non-edible oil in diesel, but the companies have not yet been able to purchase bio-diesel. Choudhary said to make the biofuel policy a success, the government should make it mandatory for oil companies to blend 10 per cent biodiesel. Terming the policy as a 'prudent' one, he said concerns of food prices going up due to a focus on biofuel was nothing but propaganda by those not in favour of it. "It is just propaganda in the hands of people who do not want the biofuel policy to come into being. It is easy to pass on the buck but saying there is food inflation because of blending," Choudhary said. Last month, a Group of Ministers headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, decided to hike the amount of ethanol blended with petrol from 5 per cent which has been in effect since October last year, to 20 per cent by 2017.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi, August 20, 2008.
10 per cent ethanol blending unlikely by October: Government’s plans to make 10 per cent blending of ethanol in petrol from October onwards is unlikely to take off amid several issues, including availability and pricing. “There are lot of issues including availability. It is unlikely to be implemented by October. However, what is important is the direction in which the Government is making efforts,” Mr Deepak Gupta, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy told Business Line at the sidelines of the renewable energy conference organised here. Declining to elaborate, he said that the ministry was reviewing the proposal. The current norms permit blending of up to 5 per cent of ethanol in petrol. Last year, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval to make 10 per cent blending mandatory from October 2008, except in the exempted areas such as Jammu and Kashmir and northeast states. As it is India has been slow in implementing biofuel policy, unlike countries such as Brazil and the US that have cars running on up to 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent petrol. The increased level of ethanol in fuel has also shot up the prices of sugar, one of the major sources from where it is produced. Prices of sugar in the domestic market have also spiralled due to shortages in production and stand marginally lower compared to global markets. Hence, in the prevailing scenario of low level of sugar production, the policy could be further delayed. Moreover, according to industry officials the government has also not yet issued a formal notification to the oil companies to procure the necessary quantum of ethanol from the sugar mills to meet the demand.
Source: The Hindu Business Line, August 22, 2008.
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Cars idling at crossings burn Rs 1,000cr a year in Delhi: At a time when oil is the most precious commodity in our planet, fuel worth Rs 1,000 crore is wasted every year in Delhi by vehicles idling at its 600 traffic signals. If all drivers were to switch off their engines wherever the stoppage time exceeds 14 seconds - which would hold for, perhaps, all signals - the country would be richer by that amount, not to speak of cleaner air in the city. This startling fact was revealed by a Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) study. The study says 98 per cent of the drivers in the city don't switch off their vehicles at the signals, irrespective of the stoppage time. With fuel prices soaring and more than 950 vehicles getting added to Delhi's roads daily, this wastage is only going up. Back of the envelope calculations show that each vehicle owner in the city can save over Rs 3,100 annually just by ensuring that his or her car is switched off at every red light that lasts for more than 14 seconds. "The survey results clearly indicate that at the 600 intersections in Delhi, 0.37 million kg of CNG, 0.13 million litres of diesel and 0.41 million litres of petrol are burned up everyday due to idling of engines. Converting these figures into monetary terms, based on fuel prices in October 2005, the losses work out to about Rs 2.72 crore daily. As fuel prices and congestion levels have increased in the last three years, the losses would have only gone up," said Purnima Parida, scientist at CRRI's traffic and transportation division. To estimate the fuel loss caused by idling, the surveyors selected 12 intersections in Delhi - Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Feroze Shah Road, Shakti Nagar, Rao Tula Ram Marg-Outer Ring Road crossing, Dabri Mor, Ashram, Moolchand, Panchsheel, Paschim Vihar, Azadpur, Khanpur, Shyam Lal College and Ghazipur. Of these, eight crossings see heavy traffic volumes, two witness medium volume and three low volume.
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi, August 7, 2008.
Car sales dip for first time in 3 yrs: The car industry recorded a dip in sales for the first time in more than two and a half years as sales in the domestic market slipped 1.71 per cent in July as interest rates, inflationary pressures and a hike in fuel prices dented demand. The segment last recorded a similar decline in November 2005, when sales dipped by 2.36 per cent. In the passenger car segment, 87,724 units were sold last month compared with 89,250 units in the corresponding month last year, according to figures released today by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam). Passenger car sales in the first four months of this financial year rose by about 11 per cent over the same period last year. The industry has sold about 500,000 units this year. There are a few key concerns for passenger car sales in the coming quarters – finance, future price revisions, excise duty on larger cars, and cost of fuel. “The percentage of financing which stood at 80 per cent earlier has now come down to 70 per cent. Stringent norms for sanctioning loans have lead to as much as two-months waiting period for certain car loans,” says Dilip Chennoy, Director General of Siam. The industry hopes that the festival season beginning September could see the launch of newer models such as Maruti’s A Star and Tata Motor’s Nano. It could spur consumer interest in buying new cars. “By year-end, we’re hopeful of a double-digit growth for the car industry,” says Chennoy. However, auto analysts are not that upbeat. Says S Ramnath, analyst, SSKI Securities, “We do not expect the growth to be higher than 8-10 per cent in the car segment for the year. High interest rates and lower buying sentiments will continue to impact demand for vehicles. The situation might improve during October with the festive season setting in, but the outlook for the next two months looks bleak. New offerings will revive sales.” “Lending norms are expected to become stricter in some of the riskier markets such as Rajasthan, Haryana, UP and MP in the event of increasing cases of defaults on repayments,” said an official from one of the leading banks.
Source: Business Standard, New Delhi, August 12, 2008.
Big cars may come with a bigger price tag soon: Big cars may become more expensive if the government decides to go the Chinese way. The petroleum ministry is examining a possibility to further raise duties on big cars, mainly diesel-run SUVs. The ministry holds a view that the current duty structure on automobiles should be reviewed in favour of smaller cars. The move seems to have been inspired by China’s decision to hike taxes on fuel guzzlers in a bid to conserve energy while saving the environment. Experts in the oil sector say that the June 14 decision of the government to levy an additional specific excise duty between Rs 15,000 and 20,000 on big cars could hardly dissuade consumers from buying the gas guzzling vehicles. For instance, a high-end SUV — Honda CRV — costs Rs 19,90,000 (ex-showroom). An imposition of a specific tax of Rs 20,000 increases the price by only 1 per cent, which is hardly a disincentive. Apart from the specific duty, big cars attract a 24 per cent excise duty. Small cars, however, attract only 12 per cent excise duty. A proposal to increase taxes on big cars will be discussed on Tuesday when petroleum minister Murli Deora would meet CEOs of oil companies to discuss the Chaturvedi Committee report on the financial conditions of oilcos. A section of officials are also in favour of a higher duty on imported vehicles. It has been noticed that there is a decline in the sale of small vehicles even as sales of passenger vehicles are witnessing a double digit growth.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi, August 19, 2008.
Move to phase out 10-year-old commercial vehicles in Delhi: Within the next two years, ten-year-old commercial vehicles will be phased out from the national capital roads, if Delhi government has its way. The state government has recently issued a draft notification according to which all ten-year-old commercial vehicles plying on Delhi roads as well as those going in and out of the NCR region will be banned. The move has been taken up to check vehicular pollution and ease traffic on the roads given that at least 800 private as well commercial vehicles are being registered every month in the city. In case the draft is notified in the existing stage, at least two lakhs commercial vehicles face threat of going off the roads, a senior transport official said. As per the draft notification, local buses will be allowed to ply on the roads only if they comply with the CNG norms. "We have invited objections and suggestions till next month after which the drafts will be notified," the official said.
Source: The Hindu, Chennai, August 20, 2008.
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Transportation
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Delhi plans transport integration by 2010: Year 2010 could be a landmark for city transport. With the state transport department having drawn up an elaborate makeover plan to improve the capital's public transport system, you may be tempted to dump your car and hop on to a train, bus or cab. And, if the plan on paper is anything to go by, all this will be comfortable, accessible, reliable and easy on your pocket too. Getting to airport from say Jungpura will be no sweat as a direct Delhi Metro train will take you to Connaught Place, from where a 20-minute ride on the Airport Express Metro will take you right inside the terminal building. To make life simpler, you would have checked in for the flight at the Metro station itself, where a boarding ticket would have been issued and the baggage checked in. Getting to work, or perhaps a shopping trip, will be equally convenient as a Light Rail Transit (LRT) train or Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC)'s new AC bus will provide you a direct link. The Capital already has over 51 lakh vehicles running on its limited road network. Since about 950 more vehicles are being added to this daily, the jams are only getting worse. The rise in petrol and diesel prices is adding to commuter woes. So, the only sound alternative will predictably be public transport. That's if the government can deliver on its promises. As per the grand plan, the network includes various modes of travel — Delhi Metro is the backbone and will be fed by a variety of modes like LRT, monorail, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and new low-floor buses, including the AC ones. Intermediary modes like taxis and autos will be strengthened. The construction of Metro is progressing at a fast pace as Phase I is already operational and the first line of Phase II — from Shahdara to Dilshad Garden — is also open. Ten more lines, spanning across about 120 km, will be added to the network in Phase 2 before 2010, taking Metro to Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad too. By 2010, the city will have over 11,000 buses, of which DTC will have a 60 per cent share. The buses will be low and will be fitted with modern tracking systems like GPS. DTC has started placing orders for new low-floor buses. The supplies have started coming in — the city has got over 250 new green buses and 12 AC buses. By next year, 500 non-AC and 25 AC buses will be plying, to be followed by 1000 and then 2,500 more such buses, of which 1,000 will be AC
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi, August 6, 2008.
Parking: EPCA writes to Centre on notified
roads: Finding parking space in the city is becoming an impossible task and with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) yet to furnish a list of parking sites along the 2,183 notified commercial and mixed land use stretches — as prescribed by the Master Plan-2021 — the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) has written to the urban development ministry and the Central government to provide them with details of the same as the notification of the roads was done by them. According to EPCA member Sunita Narain, the authority has given a deadline of two weeks to the UD ministry and central government to reply. If they do not get a satisfactory answer, they will approach the Supreme Court to ask for review of the notified stretches as the safeguards on notifying roads, mentioned in the MPD-2021, are yet to be met. Said Narain: "We had asked MCD for a list of parking sites along the commercial stretches as per MPD-2021 guidelines but have not got an adequate reply. We wrote to the UD ministry and Central government thereafter — as notification of the stretches comes under them — to provide us with the list. It has been four months but no satisfactory reply has been received." She added: "As per the Master Plan, certain safeguards were to be provided after declaring a street commercial or allowing mixed land use. Not providing them will lead to major problems. We have given the authorities concerned another two week's time to reply. In case their reply is unsatisfactory, we will approach the Supreme Court." As per the MPD-2021, basic infrastructures like water, power, etc and civic amenities like parking and proper sewage system should be provided along the 2,183 notified stretches.
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi, August 6, 2008.
New sleek fleet to replace Bluelines: A new public bus service fleet will be replacing the rickety Bluelines and the process has been set in motion. With bus operations in the first of the 17 clusters to be given out to a corporate by September, the experience of commuting by buses is set to undergo a complete makeover. The Blueline phase out scheme is scheduled for a mid-2009 completion. So, from a world of dirty buses, with uncomfortable seats and side panels falling off and the drivers racing on streets to pick up as many passengers as they can manage, the new "corporatised" fleet will comprise of modern low-floor buses, some of them air conditioned and all equipped with GPS and automated ticketing systems. The fleet will be steered by staff trained in to be courteous. To prevent the kind of problems that cropped up in Bluelines, a new revenue model for the system has been adopted. The city has been divided into 17 clusters based on overlapping bus routes. For this, all routes where five or more bus routes overlap have been included in the same cluster. Bus services in each of the clusters will be run by private operators, but since all the buses on the assigned routes will be run by the same person, there is no scope for competition. Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will run 60 per cent of the buses on the same routes and this 60:40 ratio will be the norm on all routes across the city, whether profitable or lean. To ensure that the buses stick to the assigned schedule and don’t stray into other routes, the entire fleet will be fitted with GPS and the location will be monitored from a centralised control room which the government will have access to. It was noticed that in the Blueline system, the main cause of all troubles was the desire to earn maximum profits. So, as a double safeguard, the ticketing in all the buses has been outsourced to a third agency. All the revenue collected from ticket sales will be given to the government and the operator will have an independent settlement of revenue with the transport department.
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi, August 13, 2008.
Mumbai to start traffic restrictions: Under pressure from the Bombay High Court, Mumbai will be the first Indian city to begin traffic restriction on the basis of number plate. The scheme has been on the backburner for eight years. As per the scheme, vehicles with plates ending with the numbers 1 and 2 would be barred entry into the island city on Mondays. Those with number plates having the last digits 3 and 4 would not be allowed in on Tuesdays, 5 and 6 on Wednesdays, 7 and 8 on Thursdays and 9 and 0 on Fridays. Government and police cars, ambulances and emergency vehicles would be exempt from the ban. Beijing introduced a similar scheme just before the Olympics to decongest the city and bring down pollution levels. Last Wednesday, a division bench of Justices JN Patel and KK Tated directed Transport Commissioner S Shinde to file an affidavit by August 20, explaining how the state would implement the scheme. The bench sternly asked the state government and Transport Department to get serious about decongesting the city as “the problem of traffic congestion leads to pollution and ultimately affects the health of the public at large”. In 2000, a committee headed by then transport commissioner VM Lal had come up with “100 ways to reduce Mumbai’s vehicular pollution”. But, when the government failed to act, the Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG), a non-governmental organisation, filed a public interest litigation in 2003 demanding that the scheme be implemented. The government had in 2001 agreed to implement it in principle, but has done nothing so far. At one point, the government even backtracked after former director-general of police Dr P S Pasricha, a traffic expert, termed it as unfeasible. The government had also said that it first needed to beef up public transport. For instance, the promise of deploying 500 air-conditioned buses had not been fulfilled. Additional Government Pleader SK Nair informed the court last week that the government had set up committees to deal with problems highlighted by the case. They are examining reports of expert bodies that had studied the problems. The court asked Shinde to go ahead with the scheme and use the experience to improve it.
Source: The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, August 15, 2008.
CM Dikshit lauds public transport: With this being poll year, C M Sheila Dikshit chose to highlight the achievements of her government in her Independence Day speech on Friday. She spoke about the steps taken by her government to improve infrastructure, the public transport initiatives taken and the social welfare schemes like Ladli and Rajiv Ratna Awaas Yojna. Dikshit addressed a large gathering after unfurling the national flag at a state-level function organized at Chhatrasal Stadium. “At a time when the city is grappling with severe jams and waterlogging every now and then the CM chose to highlight the public transport initiatives that are underway. "The expansion of Delhi Metro would not suffice for the needs of fast increasing passengers. The government has decided to add 6000 new low-floor buses in DTC fleet out of which 25 per cent would be air-conditioned red buses. Apart from this, the city government would introduce Global Positioning System in DTC buses to ensure punctuality and regularity," Dikshit elaborated.
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi, August 16, 2008.
Govt to put rider on states for transport project funds: The national urban transport policy is set to see a major shift with the centre planning to make it mandatory for states to set up dedicated transport funds to get central aid for mass transport projects. Municipal corporations would have to introduce special levies —betterment levy (a special charge applicable to property owners who would have seen an appreciation in the value of their assets due to a new mode of urban transport like metro), higher parking fees on busy zones, taxing old and polluting vehicles and advertisement on transit corridors — to finance the dedicated fund. Surat is the first city to have created such a transport fund. The city has already firmed up plans to divert money collected from parking fees, advertising revenue on buses and bus stands, and floor space index into this fund. Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Pune and Chennai have also committed to create such funds for their respective bus rapid systems and metro projects. “Funds from various state levies can be used for establishing a fare contingency fund to meet the difference between public fare and the technical fare payable to the public operators for the operational sustainability. This can also be used for meeting the cost of various concessions extended to different categories by the city government,” a senior official in the urban development ministry said. In fact, many cities have agreed to a good parking policy that would reflect the economic cost of the land used for parking and graded scale of parking fee according to the size of vehicle, time of day and area. The government has approved transport projects worth Rs 51,000 crore, which include metro, bus systems, light rails and monorail systems. World over, many developed countries have introduced special funds for investment in urban transport through special levies.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi, August 18, 2008.
Soon, seamless traffic flow in NCR: The Draft Reciprocal Common Transport Agreement notified by the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan is soon going to allow seamless movement of passengers and goods traffic in the National Capital Region (NCR). The agreement will come as a boon for Delhi as it will reduce the load on the city's infrastructure. Entire NCR region will be treated as one allowing unhindered movement of people and goods across across 33,578 square km, as against National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, which is limited to a small area of 1,483 square km. However, the efficacy of certain clauses of the draft — like limiting the age of vehicles allowed to ply in NCR to 10 years, and making compliance to Euro III emission standards mandatory for all goods vehicles — are being questioned by experts. Delhi government has already brought out the notification on July 25 and set a one-month time to invite objections from the public. After this, the objections will be examined and necessary changes made if needed. Else, the draft prepared by the government will be formalised and implemented with immediate effect. A similar process will be followed for the supporting draft that was brought out by the Union government on July 18, which will be made permanent after 60 days. An item (no 6 in the General category) pertains to the age of vehicles, which states that the "age of vehicle shall be limited to 10 years or till any further directions are issued in this regard". Experts have questioned this on grounds that the government has no scientific basis to suggest the 10 year time frame. Furthermore, the new law requires all the goods and transport vehicles in NCR to be Bharat Stage III compliant. Industry experts feel that the number of such vehicles are very few, and implementation of the law could lead to a sudden demand for such vehicles, which the manufacturers may not be able to meet. The government has sought to fix the load which commercial goods vehicles are allowed to carry and over which, anything is overloading.
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi, August 19, 2008.
Delhi’s traffic is India’s second slowest: Study: Here is another dubious distinction for Delhi: its peak-hour traffic crawl has been found the second worst in a countrywide survey at 15 kmph. But for Bangalore, it could have been the worst. A large number of Delhiites got a taste of this crawl on Tuesday as they rolled off the Gurgaon Expressway and drove straight into a jam tailing off for miles from the Dhaula Kuan clover leaf. “It was maddening,” fumed an office-goer who had spent a better part of the day negotiating the crawl. And he was worried about the journey back, through the returning peak-hour crawl. Let’s just call it The Great Delhi Crawl. It has now been endorsed by a countrywide survey conducted on behalf of the urban development ministry by Wilbur Smith Associates. Bangalore came out worst at 10 kmph peakhour traffic speed. Mumbai, which looks like marching time mostly, came out looking better at 18 kmph, followed by Kolkata at 20 kmph and Chennai at 22 kmph. The survey covered 30 big cities and looked at morning and evening peak hours. The crawl could be because of on-going construction of flyovers, metro and persisting BRT islands. But in large measure it is because of Delhi’s compulsive obsession with status and antipathy for public transport system. Amitabh Kundu, a JNU professor, says, "While everyone happily uses public transport in Paris, in Delhi travelling in cars to office is considered a status symbol." This is unsustainable, he believes. But for people to switch to public transport system, the latter needs to be of a certain standard, which is not the case yet in Delhi. Metro is the big hope, and people along the existing route are indeed switching. And that's the way forward, say traffic experts.
Source: The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, August 20, 2008.
3,000 more low-floor buses for city: With the number of buses in the capital set to double before the Commonwealth Games, the transport department has sought at least 75 more bus depots for the city. For this, land for nine depots has been acquired from gram sabhas. In a first, the government is also planning to cover half the drains at Barapullah and Burari to construct double-storey bus depots spanning across several kilometres. The DTC fleet is going to increase from 3,000 to 6,900 buses, and another 5,000 buses which will come as a replacement for Bluelines also need to be provided parking space. So far, only the DTC buses were parked in depots. The private bus operators parked buses on the roadside. But with corporatisation, they will be provided space in DTC depots after paying a nominal lease amount to DTC. ‘‘Parking space for an additional 7,700 buses needs to be created before March 2010 as the existing DTC depots can accommodate only 4200 buses. Land from gram sabhas is being taken over and two nallahs will also be covered to create double-storeyed bus depots,’’ said transport minister Haroon Yusuf. Each of the depots needs to be developed on an area of minimum five acres so that it can accommodate 100 buses. After a survey, the department has identified land for depots in Gadaipur, Dera Mandi, Mitraon, Asola, Dhansa, Chhawla, Raghopur, Bakkarwala and Kair villages and formalities have been initiated for the transfer. Two nallahs at Barapullah and Burari will also be covered half to create two storey bus depots. Meanwhile, the government, in Monday’s Cabinet meeting, has taken a decision to redevelop DTC depots and terminals as per the recommendations of Master Plan 2021, wherein multilevel structures will be created for parking buses and part of the area will be opened for commercial development. This is aimed at reducing DTC’s dependence on the government and would also help the corporation in taking up further improvement. The Cabinet also approved purchase of 3,000 low-floor DTC buses, which include 1250 AC buses. This is 25 per cent more than the number of buses decided for earlier.
Source: The Times of India, New Delhi, August 26, 2008.
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Can’t take Bluelines off Capital’s roads yet, government tells HC: Remember bloody Sunday in Badarpur on October 7, 2007 when blueline buses earned the tag “killer”? A day when, the police said, a speeding Blueline bus ran over seven persons waiting at a bus stop on Mathura Road in Badarpur, near Aligaon crossing. The massacre had at the time firmed up the Delhi High Court’s resolve to prod the state government to do more than disburse the Rs 1 lakh compensation to victims. The court had, in fact, asked the government to replace the errant blueline fleet with over 4,500 new buses. The government however is, expectedly, far from meeting its target. In fact, a June 27 affidavit from the government before the High Court reveals that the Capital’s public road transport still cannot do without blueline buses. Doing a U-turn from its assurance in November 2007 to stop blueline services by 2012, the government is now back in court for a further extension of blueline permits. The reason, as per an affidavit filed before a Bench led by Chief Justice A P Shah, is minus the blueline fleet there are simply not enough buses on city roads at present to meet the needs of commuters. A “circumstance” that has led the High Court to recently grant extension solely in the “interests of justice”. The figures in the affidavit also speak clearly of why public transport in Delhi still, like it or not, needs blueline buses. With over 4,000 swanky buses promised, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has ordered only 625 low-floor non-air conditioned and 25 AC buses. Of this, DTC has taken delivery of only 375 non-AC low-floor, and 16 air-conditioned low-floor buses. Orders for another 1,500 non-AC and 1,000 AC buses are “likely” to be placed by “mid-August, 2008”, says the Delhi government affidavit placed before the High Court.
Source: The Indian Express, New Delhi, August 13, 2008.
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500 CNG buses to ply on Karachi roads: The Ministry of environment has given green signal for the introduction of 500 CNG buses in Karachi in the initial phase, in a high-level meeting of the Ministry of Environment here Tuesday held in Planning Commission. The decision was made keeping in view the environment friendly nature of the project that will also benefit the general public as well as white-collar strata of society. It was directed to finalise the recommendations in the coming meeting of Ministry of Environment. The proposals were also sought in the next meeting from the provincial secretaries and federal representatives who attended the meeting. The Federal Minister for Environment, Secretary Environment, Environment ministry officials, Federal Secretary, provincial representatives and CNG bus operators participated in the meeting.
Source: The Post, Pakistan, August 13, 2008.
China raises tax on big cars to cut pollution: China is raising its sales tax on big cars to as high as 40 per cent, and drastically cutting taxes on small cars, in its latest attempt to combat emissions that contribute to heavy blankets of smog over most of its cities. The tax on passenger vehicles with engines bigger than 4 liters will be doubled to 40 per cent from 20 per cent, effective September 1, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday in a statement on its website. Those buying vehicles with engines sized from 2 liters up to 4 liters will have to pay a 25 per cent tax, up from the current 15 per cent, it said. "Autos are the giants of energy consumption and pollution emissions and this is a major part of the effort to conserve resources and reduce emissions," the ministry said. The sales tax for cars with engines at or smaller than 1 liter would drop to 1 per cent from the current 3 per cent, the Finance Ministry said. Tax rates of 5 per cent to 9 per cent for vehicles with other-sized engines remain unchanged. China is the world's second biggest market for passenger cars, with some analysts forecasting that sales could reach 10 million this year. The country's big cities have imposed auto emissions standards that exceed those in the U.S. and are at least equal to European levels. Vehicle exhaust accounts for about 80 per cent of urban air pollution. Many cities are frequently cloaked in a toxic gray haze that has grown worse as the numbers of vehicles on the roads has risen precipitously in recent years. Auto purchases are less affected by high global oil prices in China than in the West because government controls keep retail gasoline and diesel prices at levels that are among the world's lowest. While the majority of passenger cars sold in China are compact cars, drivers who can afford them are increasingly opting for bigger vehicles. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported that sales of big sedans rose nearly 50 per cent in the first half of this year, while automakers say sales of SUVs and luxury sedans have doubled.
Source: Associated Press, August 13, 2008.
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