Supreme Court Has Banned 15-Year-Old Petrol, 10-Year-Old Diesel Vehicles. But Is It Enough To Curb Pollution?

The Supreme Court on Monday prohibited the plying of 15-year-old petrol and 10-year-old diesel vehicles in Delhi and ordered the Transport Department to impound these vehicles if found plying.

The prevailing air pollution problem in Delhi is choking the citizens. The apex court described it as ¡°very critical¡± and ¡°horrible¡± and directed that vehicles be published on the website of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and transport department.

The Court said that advertisements on this should also be published in the newspapers.

In 2017, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) also banned the plying of such vehicles in the NCR and the apex court had rejected a plea against the NGT¡¯s order.

During the hearing on Monday, the bench referred to media reports that people should not go on morning walk due to the high levels of pollution.

Also read: As Stubble Burning Season Begins, Farmers Say Govt Solutions Unaffordable; Fine Not Justified

¡°Have you gone to old Delhi railway station? Poor people there have to work to earn their livelihood. The kind of exertion they undergo is much more than those walking in the morning at Lodhi Gardens,¡± the Bench told Additional Solicitor General (ASG) A N S Nadkarni, appearing for the Centre.

Air quality to decline further

On October 26, the air quality of New Delhi dropped severely recording worse air pollution than it was a day after Dussehra. The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded was 361, against 331 on Thursday and 326 a day after Dussehra, all recorded "very-poor", according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

With more regions now reeling under a "severe or severe-plus" air-quality, the CPCB on October 27, warned people to avoid jogging outdoors in the early morning and after sunset and to keep medicine nearby if asthmatic.

PTI

The recommendations, made to the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA), include a ban on construction activities for these 10 days in Delhi-NCR, shutting down of coal and biomass-based industries from November 4-10 and advisories to people to limit travel on private, especially diesel, vehicles.

Every November, air pollution in northern India reaches levels unimaginable in most parts of the world, forcing schools shut and filling hospital wards with wheezing patients.

With the onset of winters, cooler air traps car fumes, factory emissions and construction dust close to the ground, fuelling a poisonous brew of detrimental pollutants that regularly exceed 30 times the World Health Organisation's safe limit.

Ablaze landfills, blatant construction, stubble burning adding woes

While the order to ban old petrol is diesel vehicle is expected to bring some relief, other factors such as blazing landfills, construction activities and stubble burning by farmers in Punjab and Haryana are further adding toxicity to air.

Also read: Breathing Woes Are Back In Delhi As Stubble Burning Plummets Air Quality; Further Dip Expected

The EPA has warned that air pollution in the capital region is likely to peak from next week as toxic fumes from the burning of agricultural fields in the neighbouring northern states.

Crop burning will be at its peak in the first week of November as farmers prepare their fields for sowing winter crops.

AFP

The Supreme Court, earlier last week ordered that firecrackers could be exploded between 8 pm and 10 pm on the Diwali and could not be sold online. The apex court directed that only ¡°green firecrackers¡± be sold. Needless to mention, vendors are clueless about green firecrackers and said that the packaging does not come with any details which could help them differentiate between less polluting and more polluting firecrackers.

The air quality in Delhi-NCR continues to degrade and in the interim, industries across the region which were asked to shut down are still functional.

A study by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology said that Delhi might be paying the steepest price for its deadly air pollution, with life expectancy dropping by 6.4 years, likely to account for the highest number of premature deaths in India.