The transport department took emission samples of 53 diesel vehicles over 10 years old, of which 45 passed the pollution test.
The test was conducted at the Burari Transport Authority in the presence of transport minister Gopal Rai, senior transport department officers, environment activist and representatives of transport associations.
“It’s a very important point. We have to check the report in detail. If it is so, I don’t think the National Green Tribunal (NGT) will have a problem in relaxing the age norm for diesel vehicles. We will have to see the ‘pollution norm’ that the Delhi transport department is using to test the emission standards of commercial diesel vehicles and if it meets international standards,” said Vardhaman Kaushik, environment activist and petitioner.
It was on Kaushik’s petition that a Bench headed by NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar passed an order to put a cap of ten years for diesel vehicles plying in Delhi and NCR. The move aims to check the national Capital’s rising pollution level.
“The transport department has a target to check 100 old diesel vehicles per day and appraise the report to the NGT in the next hearing,” said Rai.
“The ‘reality check’ has vindicated our stand that a cap of 12 years on diesel vehicles mentioned in the Motor Vehicles Act is sufficient to check pollution. It all depends on maintenance. If maintained properly, diesel vehicles are non-polluting for 12 years,” said Ramesh Kumar Gulati, national secretary, All India Transporters’ Welfare Association. “The interest rate on diesel commercial vehicles is very high and it takes seven years to repay the loan,” he added.
Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director at the Central for Science and Environment, said, “It is not only the Pollution Under Control (PUC) standard, but what matters is the age of vehicles. Older vehicles are made on Euro-1 norm, while newer ones are made on Bharat IV norm and are less polluting. The government should come out with a strategy to weed out older vehicles in phased manner, besides implementing high taxation to discourage diesel vehicles.”
In a meeting of Delhi Dialogue Commission (DDC) on March 23, CSE chief Sunita Narain had opposed a 15-year ban on commercial vehicles.
“The age of the car is not the issue, but its maintenance is. Therefore, focus should be on annual fitness and the removal of the 15-year ban needs to be considered,” she had argued. Narain had also raised the issue of malpractices in Lambda test at Pollution Under Control centres and sought action against bribe-seekers.