Low enforcement of vehicle curbs, fines still to pick up: Data

Instead of fining owners or impounding the disallowed vehicles, authorities said they are focussed on informing residents, especially over text message and WhatsApp. The state transport department has, for instance, fined just five vehicles over the last four days, said a government official.

The Delhi Police on Tuesday fined 270 people for violating curbs on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles in the city, the force said in a statement, a day after the state government chose to continue the restrictions on the use of vehicles that conform only to older emission norms, as part of efforts to clean the Capital’s air.

Public Works Department (PWD) workers use 'dust suppressants' sprinkling water to control road dust in view of rising air pollution, in New Delhi on Tuesday. (ANI Photo) (Amit Sharma)

State transport department officials and police personnel admitted that enforcement was low, with authorities on the ground focussing on informing people about the curbs, which the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) imposed from Friday, as part of Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap). Though curbs under this stage were eased on Sunday, the state government continued the restrictions on older vehicles, as part of Grap Stage 3, which continues to be in effect in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).

Owners of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles will be fined ₹20,000 for flouting the ban, the government has said.

Instead of fining owners or impounding the disallowed vehicles, authorities said they are focussed on informing residents, especially over text message and WhatsApp. The state transport department has, for instance, fined just five vehicles over the last four days, said a government official.

“Several teams are deployed to enforce the law and they are keeping a close watch on violations. I appeal to vehicle owners affected by the curbs to follow the law,” said state transport minister Kailash Gahlot.

Another reason for the low enforcement, said officials, was CAQM’s decision to pull back Stage 4 restrictions on Sunday that caused some degree of confusion among enforcement personnel.

“We enforced the curbs from Friday till Sunday morning, when the ban was in place. We stopped on Sunday when CAQM rolled the rules back, and resumed on Tuesday after an official order resuming the curbs was issued,” said a police officer aware of the matter.

“A total of 1,296 diesel vehicles were stopped or impounded,” the traffic police said on Sunday.

“The government announced the revised restrictions on Monday, but the notification reached us only on Tuesday. Owners are being fined under Section 179 of the Motor Vehicle Act,” the second officer said. The section penalises “disobedience of orders, obstruction and refusal of information”.