NGT asks CPCB to submit report on guidelines for railway engine emissions

The National Green Tribunal asked the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on Wednesday to submit compliance report on its order on guidelines enumerating locomotive standards for Railways.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the apex pollution monitoring body to submit report in a month.

"This tribunal on consideration of pollution by operation of locomotive engines by the Railways, directed that the guidelines, containing locomotive standards, be put up on the website of CPCB and expeditious efforts be made by all the stakeholders including MoEF, CPCB to approve the final parameters for locomotive engines, after completing the study and then to notify the same.

 

"Let the CPCB file a report about the compliance of the above directions within one month by e-mail," the bench said.

The tribunal in 2017 had directed that the guidelines containing locomotive standards will be put up on the CPCB website and expeditious efforts are to be made by all the stakeholders to approve the final parameters for locomotive engines.

The CPCB's interim report titled "Exhaust Emission Benchmarks for Diesel Locomotives on Indian Railways" aims to fix standards and protocols for the sector to achieve the targets submitted by India under the Paris climate change agreement.

The Railways contributed 9.7 per cent of this figure (24.7 million tonne). Globally, however, only 3.5 per cent of the emissions from the transport sector are attributed to the rail sector, the report said.

The directions came while hearing a petition filed by Dwarka resident S K Goyal about harmful emissions from diesel locomotives.