Enforce Odd/Even rule to encourage people to shift to cleaner fuels, EV, says biogas body

New Delhi: The Indian Biogas Association has suggested enforcement of the odd-even rule for four-wheelers in Delhi NCR to check air pollution and encourage people to shift to electric vehicles or those based on compressed biogas (CBG) or natural gas.

Under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) 4 (with an air quality index of over 450) measures, an odd/even rule for four-wheelers is imposed.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has already imposed GRAP 3 measures with the air quality remaining in the "severe" category.

Taking with PTI in an interaction, Indian Biogas Association (IBA) Chairman Gaurav Kedia said, "We recommend implementing the Odd-Even Rule for Petrol and Diesel Vehicles in the coming months so that a good impact can be seen for the air pollution levels in Delhi, and subsidy on EVs and CNG/CBG vehicles, as this will compel the citizens to shift to greener fuel alternatives.

The air pollution situation in Delhi NCR worsens every winter, with the seasonal air quality index consistently remaining above the 300 mark. Delhi due to its severely polluted AQI has received worldwide attention as one of the most polluted cities on earth.

Crop residue burning, particularly of paddy straw, in neighbouring states is a major contributor to this scenario, but that's just a small piece of the bigger puzzle.

Kedia suggested that the government must focus on incentive schemes such as reduced charges on electricity bills, PNG connections, and LPG cylinders for houses that effectively segregate organic waste.

It would yield a double dividend: cleaner energy generation from green and leafy biomass collected for biogas plants and a significant reduction in landfill loads, he said.

The upcoming budget must provide a substantial amount to fulfill target of segregating and processing at least 85 per cent of Delhi's waste in the next five years, he stated.

Organic waste remains one of the prime unmanaged pollution sources in Delhi, filling up landfills. These overflowing sites continue to burn, emitting toxic fumes and significant amounts of methane gas, a potent greenhouse gas.

Delhi in 2023-2024 generated about 11,342 tons of waste per day. As per the 2024 annual report on implementation of SWM (solid waste management) rules, 2016, 33.5 per cent of generated MSW (municipal solid waste) goes to landfill but an estimate by the association depicts the number to be around 35percent.

Of all the municipal solid wastes produced, around 40-60 per cent is organic in nature. It represents an untapped resource for generating clean energy through biogas production.

Kedia stated that there is a sense of urgency that no organic waste finds its way to the landfill sites and rather should be diverted into energy-generating bio-methanation plants.

The city already operates 4 waste-to-energy facilities with a cumulative processing capacity of 6,550 tons per day.

In addition, the city has five bio-gas plants that can collectively treat 7 tons of waste per day. In addition there are eight bio methanation plants of 5 TPD capacity each but these plants are not functional.

Kedia also suggested that the country adopt Bio-PNG-powered generators since they are cleaner fuels. Retrofitting diesel generators with partial Bio-PNG use capacity or outright replacing those fully with it would go a long way in cutting down harmful emissions, he pointed out.

The total budget of the Delhi government for 2024-25 is Rs 71,086 crore, of which Rs 858.5 crore has been allocated for controlling air pollution and strengthening green spaces.

This allocation translates into approximately 1.21 per cent of the city's annual budget, a significant increase from just 0.08 per cent in 2020-21, which was Rs 52 crore on a total budget of Rs 65,000 crore.