E-Paper
Haryana, UP, Rajasthan to submit report on action taken against polluting vehicles every two months, Centre tells SC
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
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 Commission noticed a lack of enforcement against old polluting vehicles not just in Delhi but in cities adjoining the capital as well. The neighbouring states also did not have a traffic management plan in place to tackle vehicular pollution.
The affidavit said, “It was strongly reiterated that such overaged petrol/diesel vehicles more than 15/10 years of age, must not be allowed to ply in NCR at any cost and if found doing so, shall be taken off the roads immediately.”
Accordingly, the subcommittee on “safeguarding and enforcement”, under the Commission, this January 8 prepared a reporting format to be submitted by Delhi and adjoining states every two months. This format has details about over-aged vehicles impounded, traffic congestion spots identified and resolved, new pollution under control (PUC) centres added, existing and proposed parking facilities, and additional CNG fuelling stations.
On industrial polluting units, the Commission examined nearly 6,042 units in Delhi-NCR and 3,138 were found to be using clean fuel (CNG/PNG). The Commission set a deadline of January 31 for the remaining 2,904 units (2220 in Haryana, 420 in UP, and 151 in Rajasthan) to convert to clean fuel.
On stubble burning, the affidavit said the Commission’s focus was on crop residue management -- the paddy straw that is burnt could be cut and used by other industries as a source of fuel. The affidavit said, “Stubble burning and pollution arising therefrom is a major area of concern, particularly during the months of October-November…The Commission identified Crop Residue Management as one of the priority areas.”
To facilitate this, the Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmer Welfare under the Central government has developed an app-based aggregator platform for hiring and renting of farm machinery required for stubble cutting. The app called FARMS (Farm Machinery Solutions) has nearly 1.47 lakh individual farmers and over 22,000 custom hiring centres (CHC) across Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Nearly 1.58 lakh machines have been supplied to individual farmers and CHCs through the app and other financial incentive schemes, the affidavit stated.
The top court had expressed concerns over stubble burning after a public interest litigation (PIL) filed before the court pointed out that the pollution caused by stubble burning can impact even the Covid-19 mortality rate.
In 2020, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh reported a decline in stubble burning incidents but Punjab reported a 15% increase. In Haryana, last year 5,000 farm fires were reported as compared to 6,652 in 2019. Punjab reported 76,590 farm fires as against 52,991 in 2019.
On Tuesday, the court took up the PILs on stubble burning and air pollution in Delhi but adjourned the matter for two weeks. The Centre’s affidavit will be examined by the court on the next date of hearing.