A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Gujarat high court seeking ban on diesel vehicles and auto-rickshaws that run on petrol in the state, citing the rising pollution levels in the region. The petition was filed by NGO Paryavaran Mitra. The court has issued a notice to the secretary, road transport commissioner and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) in this connection.
The petition has sought a ban on BS I and BS II auto-rickshaws, allowing only BS IV CNG-run auto-rickshaws to ply on city roads. It has also sought ban on diesel goods carriers such as chakdas. The petitioner stated that though 65% of the auto-rickshaws in the city were CNG vehicles, 35% still used petrol and most of them were over 10 years old.
According to the PIL, diesel vehicles older than a decade should be scrapped and the owners should be provided subsidy to purchase CNG vehicles. The NGO said funds for the same could be raised from the fee collected at the time of issuing Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates or by penalising owners of vehicles that breach PUC norms.
The petition also suggested that the financial burden on people whose vehicles will be scrapped can be offset by reducing the GST for such vehicles. It raised objection against retrofitting of old vehicles with CNG engines. This, the petitioner argued, was not efficient as the load-bearing capacity of the vehicle, its efficiency, etc, would be less than ideal when CNG engines are fitted into old vehicles.
The NGO also stated that an RTI had revealed that 250 buses that run on the BRTS corridor were all diesel vehicles and the civic body claimed that to offset the same, they had planted trees along the route. The PIL sought direction to increase the number of CNG stations so that people were not forced to wait in long queues to refuel.
The court has been requested to order a detailed study on PM2.5 and PM10 levels in the city. The petition quoted the city's Air Quality Index in November 2017 which stood at 311 which was only a bit better than Delhi's 359.
SPECIFIC VEHICLES
- The petition has sought a ban on BS I and BS II auto-rickshaws, allowing only BS IV CNG-run auto-rickshaws to ply on city roads. It has also sought ban on diesel goods carriers such as chakdas
- The court issued a notice to the secretary, road transport commissioner and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) in this connection
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