South corp seeks NGT nod to buy 149 vehicles

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation on Thursday approached the National Green Tribunal for permission to procure 149 compactors and loaders to strengthen its garbage management fleet.

According to the civic body, this move is in compliance with the yet-to-be enforced Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

“We submitted a plea for these 149 vehicles on Thursday asking for appropriate directions to the transport department to permit their registration. These are new BS IV vehicles that are to be used for collection and transportation of municipal solid waste in south and west zone of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation,” advocate Puja Kalra, representing the civic body told HT.

Last month, the corporation had approached the green court for permission to buy 30 diesel mechanised sweeping machines of more than 2,000cc engine capability.

It had also formed a committee to explore the possibility of vehicles which are not dieselrun. “There are no petrol or CNG manufacturers in the domestic market who suit the requirement of trucks required for carriage and transport of garbage. There are some options in the international market but these are not technically feasible,” Kalra said.

The next date of hearing is March 28.

The tribunal had earlier asked all the municipal corporations of the city to “condemn and dismantle” vehicles which were over 10 years old and had ordered that new vehicles should be fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) system.

A plea moved earlier by the civic bodies had contended that the green panel had in 2015 banned the registration of new diesel vehicles.