Centre blames states' apathy in monitoring pollution
Ajith Athrady, Dec 5, 2015, NEW DELHI, dhns:
With the raging debate on increasing vehicular pollution in cities, the Centre has blamed the states over their apathy for poor monitoring of the situation despite repeated reminders.
Despite the Union Road Transport Ministry supplying smoke meters and gas analysers to every states to check air pollution following increase in number of vehicles, the states have been lax in sending their feed back to the Centre about the results, sources said.
As per the public awareness programmes envisaged in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the ministry has been supplying pollution-testing equipment since 2007. Even in 2014-2015, the Centre has supplied 525 gas analyser and smoke meters to 19 states.
However, repeated reminders to the states have fallen on deaf ears with most states not sending their feedback about the test results to the Centre, an official told Deccan Herald.
The feedback is most important to the ministry to frame policies to take corrective steps, the official added.
Earlier, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport had also suggested the ministry to ensure effective use of testing equipment by the states to check and contain pollution level.
With the complaints pouring in about increasing air pollution, the ministry is now working on a policy to scrap commercial vehicles that are over 10-year-old.
In order to tackle the huge amount of scrap generated through discarding of such a large number of vehicles, the government is also planning to set up industrial zones at ports to recycle such scrap and market it.
Taking serious note of the air pollution in the national capital, the National Green Tribunal on April 7 had held that all diesel vehicles that are over 10 years would not be permitted to ply in Delhi-NCR(National Capital Region).
Even the Tribunal had banned all vehicles that were more than 15-years-old from plying on the city roads. The order was also upheld by the Supreme Court.
Despite the Union Road Transport Ministry supplying smoke meters and gas analysers to every states to check air pollution following increase in number of vehicles, the states have been lax in sending their feed back to the Centre about the results, sources said.
As per the public awareness programmes envisaged in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the ministry has been supplying pollution-testing equipment since 2007. Even in 2014-2015, the Centre has supplied 525 gas analyser and smoke meters to 19 states.
However, repeated reminders to the states have fallen on deaf ears with most states not sending their feedback about the test results to the Centre, an official told Deccan Herald.
The feedback is most important to the ministry to frame policies to take corrective steps, the official added.
Earlier, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport had also suggested the ministry to ensure effective use of testing equipment by the states to check and contain pollution level.
With the complaints pouring in about increasing air pollution, the ministry is now working on a policy to scrap commercial vehicles that are over 10-year-old.
In order to tackle the huge amount of scrap generated through discarding of such a large number of vehicles, the government is also planning to set up industrial zones at ports to recycle such scrap and market it.
Taking serious note of the air pollution in the national capital, the National Green Tribunal on April 7 had held that all diesel vehicles that are over 10 years would not be permitted to ply in Delhi-NCR(National Capital Region).
Even the Tribunal had banned all vehicles that were more than 15-years-old from plying on the city roads. The order was also upheld by the Supreme Court.
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