The Centre has approached the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to not extend the diesel vehicle ban to other cities. It is learnt that the NGT will hear the centre’s plea on Tuesday alongside the petition seeking a ban on the sale of large diesel-powered vehicles in 11 more cities besides the national capital.
The Heavy Industries Ministry has asked the NGT to not extend the diesel vehicle ban to other cities.
Meanwhile, the NGT has asked various states to submit responses to three questions: naming the most polluted city of the state; the number of vehicles in the city along with the number of petrol and diesel vehicles; and the current population of the worst polluted city.
The states that have been asked to respond are Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The NGT has said that all relevant and latest data needs to be submitted by Tuesday and warned that if the states fail to product the data, a bailable warrant against the chief secretary of the non-responding states will be issued.
Earlier, the NGT bench after hearing a petition filed by Lawyers Environmental Awareness Forum (LEAF) ordered that diesel vehicles over 10-years-old may not be allowed to ply in six cities in Kerala including Thiruvananthapuram, Kothamangalam, Thrissur and Kozhikode.
The bench also directed the traffic police to take action and charge a fine of Rs. 5,000 as environment compensation from defaulters.
Source : BS Motoring
