Supreme Court dismissed the order regarding the plea which challenged the National Green Tribunal’s order which restricted all the diesel vehicles that are over 10 years and above and prohibiting from plying on the roads of national capital, Delhi, in order to improve the deteriorating air quality and Chief Justice H L Dattu dismissed the appeal. In Delhi, all 10 year old diesel vehicle and 15 year old petrol vehicles were to be removed from road was ordered on April 8 by NGT. This order was a better order from the previous one of 2014 December banning all 15 year old vehicle from Delhi roads which included both light and heavy vehicles.
This order will effect on 1,18,773 private vehicles and 34,659 commercial vehicles in Delhi along with this nearly 5 lakh vehicles come on Delhi roads every day in it nearly 50,000 to 75,000 are trucks and 2,500 are buses from state transport department. Most of all these vehicles run on diesel and so they will be in trouble because of this order. But implementation of this order will be quite difficult than told verbally. Many of the environmentalists have said that this order is very good and have welcomed the move of the court but meeting a 20 hour deadline by the government will be very difficult task. There were many weighbridges and PUC centres which are established by the recommendations of the transport experts at the entry point areas but it has gone in vain. There is also lack of space for vehicles to turn around. Basic acts like checking papers are not done at many check points and so stopping the vehicle from entering the city to return back will not happen. Unless and until some restrictions are put and bans laid on the vehicles that is growing vastly cannot stop or check the air pollution problem which is a major concern to all living in Delhi and so strict measures should be taken. NGT has also sought to rationalise parking charges in order to make the people use parking facility instead of parking the vehicles on the road. It has requested the government to give suggestions to give incentives to all those scrapping old diesel vehicles.
by Sushma Javare.