States will file regular reports on polluting vehicles: Centre to SC

NEW DELHI: To curb air pollution in Delhi, even the state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana will have to submit reports on action taken against polluting diesel vehicles that are over 10 years old and petrol vehicles that are over 15 years old. The reports should be submitted once every two months to the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas, the body set up by the Union government to curb pollution.

This was stated by the ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MOEFCC) in an affidavit submitted before the Supreme Court, which was hearing a clutch of petitions about the air pollution in Delhi.

The affidavit highlighted steps taken by the Commission having representatives from states adjoining Delhi, as well as representatives from central ministries, and representatives of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and state pollution control authorities.

The Commission, which was appointed in November 2020, has identified five focus areas to tackle pollution in Delhi-ncr. These are: industrial pollution, agricultural stubble burning, municipal solid waste management and biomass burning, construction and demolition activities, and vehicular pollution.

During interactions with representatives from Delhi and neighbouring states, the panel noticed a lack of enforcement against old polluting vehicles not just in Delhi but in adjoining cities as well. The neighbouring states also did not have a traffic management plan in place to tackle vehicular pollution.