Truck ban falls flat at several border points in Delhi

Spot check by HT shows trucks were allowed entry without any checks at some borders; enforcement strict in Gurugram.

A day after the Delhi government issued an order banning the entry of all trucks, except those carrying essential goods, into the Capital till November 21 to control the rising pollution levels in the city, a spot check by HT on Thursday showed that its enforcement remained lax at several border points as trucks went past tolls without any checks.

A truck seen parked in Sarita Vihar, on Thursday. (Raj K Raj/HT)

At the Badarpur border, the toll collectors said that they were not aware of any directions to stop the entry of trucks coming into the city from Haryana. A toll collector said that around 20-25 trucks bearing Haryana registration had crossed the borders by Thursday afternoon.

“Since morning, trucks are moving freely here. We are not aware of any restrictions and we have not been directed to check the vehicles (if they are carrying essential goods or not) before letting them pass,” said Sanjeev Kumar, who was stationed at the Badarpur toll booth on Thursday afternoon.

A few metres away from the toll, the driver of a medium-sized parked truck bearing a Haryana number plate, said, “I am on my way back. I am not aware of any restriction.”

At the Pul Prahladpur border, a few kilometres away, police barricades were in place but it was unmanned. A row of small trucks were parked at the Pul Prahladpur village but HT couldn’t confirm if they were carrying essential goods.

However, at the Apsara border near east Delhi’s Dilshad Garden, strict checks were being conducted, with enforcement teams comprising Delhi Police officials, traffic personnel and paramilitary staff manning the area around the toll plaza.

An official stationed at the border said that smaller trucks were turned back at the toll gate. For bigger trucks, which might cause traffic congestion while turning, the staff collect the vehicle’s documents at the toll and the drivers are asked to collect them after taking a U-turn at the nearest point.

“There is a three-tier check here. We are collecting the vehicle documents so that the drivers do not drive past the borders,” said the official, who asked not be named.

Meanwhile, the Gurugram police too set up barricades at 10 locations in the district and diverted trucks through the western peripheral expressway towards other states. Gurugram Police said that at least 200 trucks that were on their way to Delhi via Gurugram were diverted from Shankar Chowk on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway on Thursday, in compliance with the measures announced to prevent further deterioration of air quality in the National Capital Region.

Sanjeev Balhara, assistant commissioner of police (traffic), said, “We have set up checkpoints and deployed teams at all locations where heavy vehicles enter the expressway. At least 300 personnel are deployed at the borders and are checking all vehicles to ensure only vehicles carrying essential commodities enter the city,” he said.

Gurugram police have also asked neighbouring districts – Nuh, Rewari and Jhajjar – to not allow heavy vehicles and re-route them via KMP Expressway.

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) order on Wednesday assigned the task of banning trucks to the Delhi Police, Delhi’s transport department, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the three municipal corporations (North, South and East). The order followed similar directions issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas to control the rising pollution levels in the city.

Officials had said that the order is unlikely to cause chaos as most of the non-destined commercial vehicles now bypass the city by taking the eastern and western peripheral expressways that form a ring around the Capital.

“We have issued strict directions that no laxity will be tolerated. Trucks are being checked at the borders and if they are carrying non-essentials, they are being turned back,” said a senior DPCC official.

The Delhi traffic police officials said that they have held talks with all the major truck associations, asking them to comply with the order.

“All the associations/unions of truck operators/owners and drivers have been advised to make adequate arrangements at their own level for proper parking and halting of their trucks outside Delhi borders, at suitable places like warehouses, transport hubs etc till November 21,” said Manish Kumar Agarwal, special commissioner of police (traffic).

He added, “Police authorities of neighbouring NCR towns have also been requested to make adequate arrangements for diversion of such trucks, which are not supposed to enter Delhi, in order to avoid congestion at border points.”

Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said the contribution from trucks in Delhi’s air has reduced over the last couple years due to the expressways, but they are still one of the biggest polluters in the vehicle segment.

“These are heavy duty vehicles, and trucks enter Delhi in the night when temperatures are low and these emissions can stay trapped in the air till the next day. In our analysis in 2015, we found that trucks were contributing to around 30% of the total pollution due to vehicles,” she said.

Tanushree Ganguly, Programme Lead at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), said while the ban on entry of trucks into Delhi was a good move, there also needs to be a restriction on the movement of private vehicles in order to complement the ban.

“Cutting down intra-city vehicular traffic would not only reduce vehicular exhaust emissions but also contribute to reducing re-suspended dust and idling emissions,” she said.