40 lakh old vehicles de-registered: Govt tells Supreme Court

NEWDELHI: The Delhi government told the Supreme Court on Thursday that 40 lakh “overage” vehicles, both diesel and petrol, have been deemed de-registered.

This information was shared after the apex court expressed displeasure that orders passed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and Supreme Court in 2015, banning more than 10-yearold diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles from plying in the National Capital Region (NCR), was not yet complied.

“Three-and-a half-year have gone by but it appears that orders passed by the NGT and confirmed by this court are not being complied with yet. The counsel for Delhi government has been asked to advise his client to act with promptitude,” the bench said.

Advocate Wasim A Qadri, representing Delhi government, told the bench that such vehicles would not be allowed to ply on the roads here. He said out of 1.10 crore vehicles registered in Delhi, 40 lakh vehicles have been deemed de-registered. The apex court had on Monday ordered Delhi government’s transport department to start impounding overage vehicles if they are found plying on roads.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) also told a bench led by justice MB Lokur that has created social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook where citizens could lodge their complaints about pollution in NCR. The board was asked to give adequate publicity and issue advertisements about the setting up of these accounts to spread awareness among citizens so that they are encouraged to lodge their complaints.

Additional solicitor general A N S Nadkarni, who was appearing for the Centre and CPCB, said the board had complied with top court’s October 29 order. He said 18 complaints had been received on these social media accounts till Wednesday and CPCB has also given a link on its website where one could find the list of 15-year-old petrol and 10-year-old diesel vehicles in NCR.

Advocate Aparajita Singh told the bench that within the next few days, radio-frequency identification (RFID) would be commissioned at 13 entry points from where commercial vehicles enter Delhi. The RFID would help in keeping a tab on presence of commercial vehicles in Delhi.