Recently, the Delhi government of India announced a remarkable measure to effectively alleviate air pollution. Starting from April 1st, all gas stations within the Delhi National Capital Territory will be prohibited from refueling gasoline vehicles over 15 years old. Delhi Environment Minister Sirsa stated that special devices will be installed at gas stations to accurately identify vehicle age, and it is expected that all gas stations will complete the installation work by the end of this month.
In fact, India has long had regulations prohibiting the driving of diesel vehicles over 10 years old and gasoline vehicles over 15 years old in the Delhi area. This new policy is a further strict implementation of the original ban. At the same time, the Delhi government also plans to take multiple measures to control air pollution, requiring high-rise buildings, hotels, shopping malls, airports and other places in Delhi to install smoke prevention facilities, and plans to replace 90% of natural gas buses with trams by December this year.
Once this policy was announced, it triggered different reactions in society. The chairman of the Delhi Gasoline Dealers Association, Sinhanya, welcomes this policy and believes that it is expected to stimulate some old car owners to switch to new cars, thereby driving gasoline consumption and playing a positive role in promoting the development of the industry. However, some environmentalists have raised doubts, pointing out that there is currently no scientific evidence to suggest that only vehicles over 15 years old are the "culprits" causing air pollution. They call on the government to focus more energy on addressing emissions from large pollution sources such as industrial and construction activities, as well as central power plants, as these sources may have a more severe impact on air quality.
From the perspective of policy impact, reducing the use of old cars theoretically helps to lower exhaust emissions and has a positive impact on improving air quality. But if comprehensive remediation is not carried out on other pollution sources at the same time, relying solely on restricting old cars may greatly reduce the overall environmental improvement effect. On the economic level, this policy can stimulate automobile consumption and drive the development of the automobile industry; On the other hand, for owners of old cars, especially low-income groups, they may face the economic burden of vehicle scrapping or replacement. In addition, the implementation of policies also faces many challenges, such as whether gas station equipment can operate effectively and accurately identify vehicle age, and how to balance and solve other pollution source problems while controlling vehicle pollution, which are urgent problems that the government needs to solve.
(Editer：admin)
