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Drive to check Chennai air pollution soon

S. Gopikrishna Warrier

CHENNAI, Aug. 10

THE Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) will soon launch a multi-pronged campaign to reduce air pollution in Chennai.

Its Chairperson, Ms. Sheela Rani Chunkath, said for this effort, the Board will coordinate with other Government departments, public sector agencies, private sector and citizen's groups.

She said the multi-pronged strategy would look at various ways of reducing vehicular pollution. Since there are hardly any factories inside the city, between 70 and 80 per cent of the air pollution is caused by vehicles.

One out of every four vehicles in Tamil Nadu runs in Chennai. Out of the 11 lakh vehicles in the city eight lakh are two wheelers. Majority of the two wheelers have two-stroke engines, contributing to the pollution.

The city's vehicle population has doubled in the last 10 years. ``In the coming years there would be an exponential growth in numbers. We should not be waiting for prodding from the judiciary to get moving,'' she said.

The Board envisages an action plan to work at various levels, starting with emission checks, discouraging diesel cars, transiting from two-stroke to four-stroke engines, working for better fuels, encouraging emission warranties, implementing existing law s better.

Ms. Chunkath said though emission checks have been in force for some time, the aim of most of the vehicle owners has been to beat the deadlines. TNPCB will run an awareness campaign to enthuse people to keep emission in check for the benefit of their fam ily's health.

According to her, diesel exhaust has 10 to 100 times more particulate matter than petrol. This particulate matter is considered to be among the most carcinogenic substances.

To reduce the pollution from diesel, the Board will actively discourage the use of private diesel cars in the city. Public transport will be encouraged to convert to compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Further, it will also work with the Police department to implement the Government Order, issued in February this year, which prohibits the movement of heavy vehicles (trucks, trailers, etc.) on 19 arterial roads of the city during day time.

``This is a good via media,'' she said. ``Diesel pollution can be reduced during the traffic hours.''

Since two-stroke engines pollute more than four-stroke engines, the campaign will encourage the use of two wheelers using the latter kind of engines.

TNPCB will work with oil industry for the supply of low-sulphur petrol, Ms. Chunkath said. In unleaded petrol, if the sulphur content is not low, then benzene (a carcinogen) is produced in the exhaust.

The Board has also written to the oil industry to supply petrol pre-mixed with lubricating oil. Since lube oil is prone to adulteration at the outlets, ensuring its quality can reduce pollution, according to her.

`Emission warranty' is another concept that will be introduced in the city. Authorised dealers of vehicles will be asked to service their vehicles in such a way that they do not pollute.

``We have warranties for performance, mileage, etc., but nobody gives a warranty for low emission,'' she observed.

As long as the owners bring their vehicles for regular check-ups the authorised dealer should be able to give a three-year warranty that the vehicle will not pollute, she added.