A division bench of justices Abhay Oka and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai said, "The civic body will have to pay a cost as this is in violation of earlier court orders."
The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to nominate a senior officer who would give an undertaking to the court about complying with the decision to replace 29 polluting vehicles owned by the corporation by October 2017. It also asked the corporation to pay the cost, or deposit money, until the orders are complied with.
A division bench of justices Abhay Oka and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai said, "The civic body will have to pay a cost as this is in violation of earlier court orders."
As per an earlier High Court order, old vehicles that are BS-II (Bharat Stage-II) and BS-III emission-compliant, have to be upgraded or replaced. These vehicles are more than eight years old, but have to be upgraded or replaced before they cross 15 years. From the fleet of 1,000 vehicles owned by the corporation, 29 are left to be upgraded.
Among the vehicles that need upgradation are three fire fighters and five water tankers. The civic body had on Wednesday moved the Bombay High Court seeking a year's extension to phase out these vehicles. An application moved on Wednesday by the Chief Engineer of the Solid Waste Management department said, "The aforesaid vehicles add to health and sanitation woes of residents, and therefore departments using these vehicles have sought an extension until the procurement of new vehicles."
Advocates Suresh Pakle and Trupti Puranik, appearing for the civic body, assured the court that all vehicles would be procured by October 2017, and for the sake of the health and well being of the citizens, an extension will be granted. BMC said the process to procure new vehicles has begun, and tenders have been floated for certain kind of vehicles.
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