The authorities in Seoul, the South Korean capital, have expressed their willingness to share with New Delhi and other major metropolitan cities in India their expertise to combat air pollution and traffic congestion.

Senior officials at the Seoul Metropolitan Government told a group of visiting foreign journalists that they consider automobiles as the main source of air pollution and, therefore, encourage citizens of the South Korean capital not to drive cars but to use public transport in order to reduce vehicle emissions. Seoul, they said, had introduced the restriction on older vehicles weighing 2.5 tonnes or more in the metropolitan area.

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“When the fine dust goes beyond certain levels, the city government carries out emergency measures to reduce the high concentration of fine dust and then provide free public transportation during peak commuting hours,” the officials said. Similar mechanisms could be put in place in major Indian cities which were grappling with air pollution every year.

They pointed out that since 55 per cent of the fine dust in Seoul came from overseas, the city government was making efforts to cooperate at the diplomatic level with neighbouring countries like China and Japan to improve air quality in the region.

Asked how the Seoul authorities look at the odd-even driving programme which was carried out by the Delhi Government in the Indian capital over the past two-three years during winter to fight air pollution, the Korean officials said the initiative was praise-worthy but not sufficient to enable every citizen to enjoy his right to breathe fresh air and lead a healthy life.

“Air pollution cannot be solver just in a day or two with knee-jerk reaction, nor achieved solely by a city or a country. Both long-term and short-term policies should be applied simultaneously. Neighbouring cities and countries need to work together to get good results,” they added.

On traffic congestion in Delhi and other Indian cities, these officials said the best way to fight this problem was to innovate the public transportation system.

“For healthy lives of citizens and a sustainable future of Delhi, the automobile-centred transportation system should be changed into a system focusing on public transportation, bicycles and pedestrians,” they added. The best way to solve traffic congestion and to improve the environment at the same time was to increase urban railways.

The officials said Seoul had already started cooperating with Delhi in fields like environment, public health, solid waste management, tourism and transport after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s visit to the South Korean capital in mid-September.