States urged to comply with emission standards: Air quality panel to SC

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has informed the Supreme Court that it has asked the Delhi government and the neighbouring states for strict compliance with the emission standards and pollution norms, given vehicular pollution contributes heavily towards poor air quality.

In a compliance report filed before the top court, the air quality panel said that regular certification of vehicles for compliance with emission standards was a must.

According to the panel's data, a total of 1.81 lakh challans were issued in Delhi till June 2024 for either driving without valid pollution under control certificate (PUC) or driving over the prescribed load limit, in comparison with 1.64 lakh challans for similar offences in 2023.

"Regular certification of vehicles towards compliance of emission standards is a must and in this context the commission has directed the national capital region (NCR) state governments and the government of national capital territory of Delhi (GNCTD) for effective implementation of the new PUC certificate regime, including periodic audits of the PUC certificate issuing agencies, in compliance of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (Amendment) Rules, 2021 dated June 14,2021," the CAQM said.

The body further informed the apex court that drives were being carried out regularly for ascertaining compliance.

The panel further said that all states concerned have been directed to strictly adhere to the age limit of vehicles -- 15 years in the case of petrol vehicles and 10 years in case of diesel vehicles -- and ensure any vehicle above the prescribed age limit does not ply on NCR roads.

The panel said a boost in public transport infrastructure and facilities is the need of the hour to ease congestion on roads and abate vehicular pollution.

"The GNCTD and NCR state governments have been accordingly advised to prioritise public transport while also mandating e-mobility in some sectors and augmentation of the charging infrastructure," it said.

Batting for a transition to e-mobility, the commission said it has issued an advisory mandating procurement of e-vehicles in the government, e-commerce platforms for door-to-door deliveries, service agencies etc., to give a further push to clean technologies in the transport sector.

"Equally important is the need to build requisite infrastructure to support e-mobility i.e., battery charging stations, battery swapping points and for disposal of large volume of batteries which is likely to be generated in the ensuing years," the panel said.

The commission disclosed that Delhi has 3,00,810 electric vehicles and 4,793 charging points.

It said that GNCTD has been given a target of increasing the number of charging points to 18,000 by 2025-26, with UP and Haryana being set targets for an addition of 252 and 170 points, respectively, by the end of 2026.

The submissions were part of a report filed in response to the directions of the apex court, which is hearing a plea to curb air pollution in the national capital.