No NOC for diesel vehicles which are more than 15 years old, says NGT
NEW DELHI: Diesel vehicles in the city which are 15 years old should be deregistered first and will not get NoC for plying outside Delhi-NCR, the National Green Tribunal said on Wednesday.
Only deregistered diesel vehicles which are less than 15 years old can get No Objection Certificate for plying in select areas outside Delhi-NCR to be decided by states where vehicle density is less.
“All diesel vehicles which are more than 15 years old and are BS-I, BS-II to be scrapped and no NOC will be issued,” a bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar said as it clarified its earlier order directing the Delhi government to cancel the registration of all diesel-powered vehicles which are more than 10 years old from plying in the city.
“We make it clear that deregistration of diesel vehicles shall be complied with effectively without any default. However, registration authorities are directed to start the process with reference to oldest vehicles first, that is, diesel vehicles which are 15-year-old of a local cow vigilante group.
Congress MP K Suresh raised the issue during the Zero Hour, seeking the setting up of a joint parliamentary committee to go to the bottom of the matter.
“Violence is RSS agenda. RSS is trying for ‘Dalit-mukt Bharat.’ The government totally failed. It was a BJP-sponsored attack. What is going on? Is this the Gujarat model,” the Congress MP said, as tempers ran high in the Opposition benches.
He alleged that it was the BJP’s agenda to polarise communities ahead of assembly elections next year.
Countering the charge, the home minister claimed that cases of atrocities against Dalits had declined after Modi assumed power in the state in 2001. Dubbing crime against Dalits a “social evil”, Singh urged all parties to work together to eradicate it.
Dissatisfied over the minister’s reply, Congress and Trinamool Congress members should be de-registered first,” the bench said.
The bench also clarified that all deregistered vehicles which are less than 15 years old will not be allowed to ply in Delhi NCR and the authorities will issue No Objection Certificate (NOC) to them so that they can be registered in some other places where vehicle density is less.
The green panel asked the states to identify areas where dispersion of air is higher and vehicle density is less.
The bench said that the Regional Transport Officer (RTO), Delhi will issue NOC only for those areas which have been identified by the states. The bench asked the ministry of heavy industries to take a panel view on scrapping of vehicles and the benefits associated with it which would be provided to persons who opt for such a policy.
THE HOME MINISTER SAID CASES OF ATROCITIES AGAINST DALITS HAD DECLINED AFTER MODI ASSUMED POWER IN
THE STATE IN 2001
The Congress MLA further noted that the minister hadn’t mentioned crop loss or inability to repay loans anywhere in his response. “Instead, he cited possession by ghosts and spirits as the reason for farmers committing suicide in two cases. The reason for 117 cases was listed as unknown,” he said.
Following this, many Congress MLAs rose from their seats and heckled the ruling ministers for blaming a matter as serious as farmer suicides on supernatural entities. Opposition MLA Jitu Patwari said the state government should officially accept the existence of ghosts in the given circumstances.
According to data from the state crime records bureau, Madhya Pradesh witnessed 18,687 farmer suicides between 2001 and 2015. Over 1,000 farmers killed themselves across the state owing to crop failure and related issues last year.