‘Tolerance for discomfort’: Delhi air is not a crisis, it’s people’s mindset, CEO says

When the founder of a car company calls on the government to restrict car use, you know the air is unbreathable. Cars24 CEO Vikram Chopra has made a strong plea for stricter pollution controls in Delhi – even if it makes life difficult for businesses like his.

« I run an auto tech company. My entire business depends on people buying, selling and using cars — and even I say Delhi needs much stricter, much more uncomfortable rules to fix the air, » Chopra wrote in a powerful post on X. His warning was not wrapped in statistics or political jargon. It was a raw, personal plea: « I have a five-year-old son and eighty-year-old parents. Their lungs can’t take our excuses. »

Chopra claims what he sees as Delhi’s main pollution: the public’s intolerance of discomfort. « The problem is not science, the real problem is our tolerance for discomfort, » he stated. His post listed a series of proven measures—odd vehicle restrictions, curfews, GRAP restrictions—all of which temporarily improved air quality, but were quickly undone by the nuisance.

The odd even in 2016 reduced PM2.5 by 14-16%. The 2020 restriction reduced PM2.5 and PM10 particles by 40-60%, and NO₂ was halved. « People hated it, mocked it, fought it, and we shut it down because the harm was louder than the information, » he wrote.

Chopra’s frustration is also directed at policymakers who have failed to follow through on impressive solutions: congestion pricing, tighter diesel restrictions, real-time emissions monitoring on construction sites and satellite-linked incentives to curb bed burning. « None of these required genius; they required political courage and administrative clarity. Both were lacking, » he said.

However, the deeper charge is social. « We want clean air, but not at the expense of traffic rules, construction schedules, fuel choices or personal comfort. This mindset is real pollution, » asserted Chopra.

He calls on the government to act urgently and firmly: limit cars, limit diesel use in winter, enforce building bans and regulate chronic polluters as if it were a health emergency – not a bureaucratic formality. « My children and parents do not have the biological luxury of embracing our indecision… They will not get replacement lungs when Delhi’s flight policy fails. »

His final warning cuts deep: « If we don’t accept the trouble now, ten years from now we’ll be living in a coffin shaped like an air purifier and pretending that’s progress. »