New Delhi, Jul 24 (PTI) The Delhi government has directed the transport and environment departments to carry out a thorough study of the guidelines and enforcement rules regarding overage vehicles, and the public response to these measures.
According to officials, the city government is working on filing a review petition in the Supreme Court, urging it to rethink its rules on end-of-life vehicles.
An official said the law, transport and environment departments are studying the policies and legal provisions on overage vehicles.
“The environment and transport departments are studying the guidelines, their impact on the public and the benefits and consequences on ground and air-quality levels. Once they complete the study and submit the report, the government will examine it and take further decision on filing a petition in court,” Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said.
A 2018 judgment of the apex court banned diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi. A 2014 National Green Tribunal (NGT) order also prohibits the parking of vehicles aged over 15 years in public places.
Earlier this month, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had said her government will urge the Supreme Court to allow uniform rules on overage vehicles in the capital, in line with those followed across the country.
Gupta’s remarks came after Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena wrote to her, saying it is “irrational” to imagine that a 10-year-old diesel vehicle has reached its end of life in Delhi while remaining roadworthy and lawful in any other city under the same law.
“This appears incongruent with the principle of legal certainty and equal treatment,” Saxena said in the letter sent to the chief minister on Saturday. The LG also said the government should file a review petition in the apex court, apprising it of the range of initiatives taken by the city government in the recent past and the changed circumstances for a reconsideration of its order concerning end-of-life vehicles in relation to Delhi-NCR.
The Delhi government had urged the Centre’s air-quality panel to immediately suspend a fuel ban on overage vehicles and said it will make “all-out efforts” to resolve issues related to restrictions on the movement of end-of-life vehicles on city roads.
Sirsa, in a letter to Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Chairman Rajesh Verma, said the fuel ban is not feasible and cannot be implemented due to technological challenges. PTI SLB RC
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