Beijing gets cleaner air by off-roading 3.40 lakh polluting vehicles, Can Delhi go the China way?

Beijing, China's capital city, has taken 3.40 lakh ageing high-emission vehicles off the roads this year as part of a massive bid to improve the toxic air quality of one of the most polluted metropolitants.

The move will help annually reduce 40,000 tonnes of pollutant emissions from the atmosphere, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbon and particulate, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau said.

Beijing has about 5.65 million vehicles, with total pollutant emissions of about 500,000 tonnes per year, LiKunsheng, director of the vehicle management department withthe bureau, was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua newsagency.

Vehicles contribute to over 30 per cent of the city's PM2.5 pollution each year, Li said.

Beijing has come up with a scheme to encourage elimination of old vehicles. According to the scheme, an owner of a ten-year-old car who discards it can get a government subsidy of 8,000 yuan (1,183 US dollars), while an owner of a ten-year-old bus canget 19,500 yuan.