NGT raps Delhi police over old cars

The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday rapped the Delhi police on Tuesday, asking why the force had not taken any action to stop vehicles more than 15 years old from plying on the roads in the national capital.

A bench headed by the green watchdog’s chairperson, Justice Swatanter Kumar, asked the Delhi police why it did not prosecute people who were driving 15-year-old vehicles on the city roads. It also asked the police force what action had been taken so far in this respect. The police, while replying to the court’s questions, said that it had fined around 1,000 vehicles. “We have also started to impound such vehicles, which are 15 years old,” the police told the tribunal.

The bench was also informed by the petitioner that only diesel taxis were impounded in pursuance to the Supreme Court’s order that had on April 30 refused to extend deadline fixed for conversion of the diesel taxis plying in national capital into less-polluting CNG mode.

To this, the bench asked the Delhi police, “Are there any petrol vehicles more than 15 years old which you have impounded ” It asked the police to furnish by Wednesday, the entire data of vehicles challaned and impounded by it.

During the hearing, the green bench also pulled up the Delhi government over the issue of pollution from dust and municipal waste burning. “What is the NCT of Delhi doing about dust and municipal waste burning We have told your (government’s) chief secretary to hold a meeting and finalise a plan for it,” the bench said.

The advocates appearing for the AAP government and the civic agencies told the bench that they were taking steps in this regard after which the green panel asked them to file complete details before it and fixed the matter for hearing on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the bench asked the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) about the data of ambient air quality in Delhi recorded during the recently-concluded second phase of the odd-even car rationing scheme. The CPCB advocate informed the bench that the data was “under compilation” and they would furnish it soon. The NGT had on Monday taken the Delhi government to task for its failure to implement its order banning vehicles more than 15 years old from plying on the roads here.