With reference to the edit, ‘Choke hold’ (April 90, Delhi shares its air pollution woes with many global cities. Los Angeles continues to have its infamous smog and so does Beijing. . Delhi has more cars than the total number in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and West Bengal. In fact, over 17 per cent of the private cars in India run in Delhi.

Catalyctic converters helped reduce pollutants. But these are less effective in diesel and its cost would rise steeply to obtain greater efficiency. Modern petrol cars, even 15-year-old ones, have good enough anti-pollution gadgets. Heavy diesel movements in and around Delhi with less than adequate pollution trapping devices should be the prime concern.

Our capital ought to have been 250 km farther to the northeast or, as once envisaged, in Hyderabad. Till then, forced indoors with his four cars in the garage, the Delhiwala might as well enjoy the IPL in HD.

R Narayanan

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

The National Air Quality Index is just a start, we have a long way to go in safeguarding our environment. The deteriorating air quality of our cities poses severe health risks for both present and future generations.

The government can prevent further deterioration of air quality by increasing CNG-based public transport systems, diverting inter-state heavy vehicle traffic to the outer areas of cities, preventing construction of industrial townships near cities and encouraging people to use green fuel and public transport.

The government must ensure that the Make in India initiative runs on the lines of sustainable development. It is our duty to ensure safer and healthier air for our future generations.

Gaurav Singhal

Delhi

No comparison

I agree with KP Unnikrishnan’s view that a smart city means, e-governance, e-connect, efficient transport and traffic management, and civic administration (‘If Singapore can, so can India’, April 9). But I do not agree that India can become Singapore. India is too large a country to bring such drastic changes overnight or even in the years to come. What we should do is to try to change a few cities; once we achieve that we should expand it to a few more cities.

We should not forget that Lee Kuan Yew transformed Singapore because he was ruthless in his approach. In India we protest against the toll charges levied by developers. So if we are not ready to pay for good services then how can we dream of becoming a world class city or state like Singapore? We also need to change our thinking. That is why Yew once famously said that if India is governed by a leader like Infosys’s Narayana Murthy, the nation could become a first world country in just one generation.

Bal Govind

Noida, Uttar Pradesh

Harsh penalty

It is really harsh for listed companies to pay a penalty for hot having a woman member on their board (‘No woman on Board? Firms face hefty penalty’, April 9). SEBI’s direction appears to be unwarranted. First, why should there be a compulsory seat for a woman? The post should be filled on merit, be it a man or a woman.SEBI need to facilitate and encourage, rather than mandate.

You don’t need to reserve a seat for a woman just to take care of sexual harassment at the workplace. In India, it may be difficult for all listed companies to fulfil this requirement. All SEBI needs to do is to ensure that some preference is given for woman directors, should there be competition in this regard from men. Making it a mandatory and levying a penalty for non compliance is women’s empowerment going too far.

RS Raghavan

Bengaluru

Be more socially relevant

Recently, the Union Minister for Science and Technology highlighted the need for more socially relevant results from research and technology institutes. This is relevant to all sectors, and in all fields of research. Even political decisions should be based on scientific study. There is a need for social relevance and cost benefit analysis.

Mohamadali

Email

Separate bench for company law

It is unfortunate that even after the enactment of the Companies Act 2013, some of the provisions of the Act are not in force. For want of clarity many cases are pending at the company law board and in BIFR. The constitutional validity of the National Company Law Tribunal and its appellate panel is to be decided by the larger bench of the Supreme Court. This, after the Companies Act 2013 has come into force. The matters requires the urgent attention of the Supreme Court to retain the confidence of foreign investors.

D Sureshbabu

Hyderabad

Indifferent government

This refers to your edit, ‘Choke hold’ (April 9). Open drainage which flows through all our cities are clearly a health hazard. The air surrounding these drains are poisonous to say the least. The air conditioning machines’ condenser coil which is made of copper and has an anti-corrosive coating will corrode to dust in just six months because of the gases in the air surrounding these drains. Millions of Indians live near these without knowing the harm they cause. The government is insensitive to the plight of these people. The government shouldn't just have systems to monitor air quality, but should act on the feedback from the collected data.

CR Arun

Email

Absurd idea

The mandatory screening of Marathi films during prime time is absurd and illegal — it violates free business principles. The plea of promotion of Marathi cinema cannot stand in a court of law. I am sure the Bombay High Court will strike it down if a PIL is filed. In the interest of the development of Maharashtra it is better to think globally.

M Kumar

New Delhi

Strange linking of prices

It is surprising how the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority or the NPPA has linked the prices of essential drugs with the Wholesale Price Index. While the WPI includes several products such as tobacco, beverages, leather and leather products which do not matter in a life and death situation and also reflect changing trends and tastes, essential drugs would mostly include drugs which would be absolutely essential for life or at least the bare minimum physical wellbeing of an individual and have nothing to do with changing tastes. The only reasonable way to fix prices of essential drugs should be a cost plus approach after getting a survey of audited figures of involved costs.

Arun Bhagoliwal

Mumbai

Truckers’ woes

The news item ‘TN truckers happy over Kerala checkpost’ (April 9) has highlighted the speedy implementation of proposals at Walayer checkpost bordering Tamilnadu and Kerala. If the Kerala government had implemented the demands of the truckers, which has been agreed upon in July 2013, the 6-day strike could have been averted. It is sad that truck transporters providing goods to all sectors of the country including daily vegetables and milk are subjected to such humiliation even after paying taxes. The ultimate victims are the lorry drivers who suffer at border check posts day and night. The delay can take hours and days, as happens at Walayer, resulting in losses to vehicle owners and consignees, and leading to overall inefficiency in truck fleet productivity.

While in developed countries, the daily run of trucks is about 1000-1100 km, in leading Bric countries it is 600-700 km, but India it is only around 300-350 km.

SP Singh

Delhi

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