Diesel cabs: Supreme Court seeks AAP govt plan in 2 days

The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave a two-day deadline to the AAP government for filing a detailed plan on phasing out diesel run taxis from the national capital, which faced protests and blockades by diesel cab operators causing hardship to regular commuters for the second consecutive day. The Delhi government on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court seeking modification of the April 30 order banning plying of diesel taxis in the national capital territory region.

Counsel for the AAP government made an urgent mention on Tuesday before a bench headed by Chief Justice T.S. Thakur, who asked the counsel to file a proper application by Tuesday evening, giving the road map for conversion of diesel cabs into CNG-fitted vehicles. Accordingly, the application was filed and it will be taken up by the bench in a day or two.

The Delhi government said the April 30 order had affected cabs/taxis operators, owners and drivers in the capital. The operators, owners and drivers of diesel taxis are agitating against the order resulting in chaos and blockages on the roads since Monday, causing inconvenience to the public at large and the same is likely to continue.

The AAP government said it has always supported the need for curbing pollution and has been appearing in the matter supporting the cause and also the suggestions of Environment Pollution Control Authority. The city government has been taking measures for bringing down the pollution levels by way of its policies that involved the participation of residents, it said.

However, looking at the law and order situation in Delhi because of an ongoing agitation by the affected 27,000 cab/taxi operators and the likelihood of the same happening again, the counsel said though the Delhi government is fully supporting the order, it sought permission to implement the order in a phased manner.

It wanted the top court to suitably modify the order so that there is no adverse impact on the law and order situation and no untoward incidents.

Cab drivers block DND Flyway for 45 minutes Traffic crawled across the national capital for the second successive day on Tuesday as drivers of diesel taxis blocked key roads connecting the city to Noida and Gurgaon. A massive traffic jam due to the protest was also reported at DND Flyway.

The congestion, reported from crucial arteries such as the Delhi-Noida Direct Flyway, during the morning rush hours, affected thousands of office-goers, who were forced to sweat it out on the roads with an unrelenting heat adding to their woes.

A small group of taxi drivers staged a protest in Gurgaon, but the Haryana police dispersed them immediately.

Taxi drivers blocked traffic at DND Flyway for about 45 minutes to protest against action by enforcement agencies following the Supreme Court’s decision to ban diesel taxis in Delhi.

“Traffic was affected for 45 minutes, from 9.45 am to 10.30 am. On Monday, traffic was affected for 20 minutes as well. We immediately informed the police about the protest,” DND Flyway spokesperson Anwar Abbasi said.

Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate N.P. Singh had issued directions to all IT and other companies and transporters to get diesel cabs converted to CNG. Over 20,000 cabs are running for companies in Noida, ferrying their employees.

Traffic volume on the already busy thoroughfares such as Vikas Marg, especially areas in and around ITO, went up due to ongoing repair work on Bhairon Marg and desilting of a canal near Karkari More.

The Supreme Court on Saturday refused to give more time to cab operators to convert their diesel taxis to CNG and imposed a ban on diesel cabs in the city from May 1, a decision that affected over 27,000 diesel-run vehicles, many of them linked with app-based cab aggregators such as Uber and Ola.

Traffic police in the city launched a massive drive to book and impound violators of the ban, riling a large number of cab drivers, and this has prompted the Centre to consider urging the apex court to review its decision.