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.