The National Green Tribunal’s decision to weed out vehicles that are more than 15 years will not help fight pollution. It will only cause trouble for the public and create new business for the automobile industry
The National Green Tribunal is either too wise or works in a wrong manner. Its ideas are utopian and if implemented, they will lead to unnecessary policing of those who do not need it. How else do you explain the NGT’s recommendation, lapped up by the bureaucracy, to weed out all vehicles that are more than 15 years oldIJ The common man loses and apparently, the automobile industry gains, along with corrupt implementing agencies.
It is a bad economic decision. It will lead to a loss of billions of rupees that could have been used for spurring the economy. Another billion will be lost chasing the wild goose. And what would be the cost of dumping the ‘waste’ vehiclesIJ How much dumping space will it require and who will bear that costIJ The European Union generates about nine million tonnes of waste annually from its end-of-life-vehicles. In India, each metro will generate that much.
It is also a myth that a new car is less polluting. A 2004 analysis of Toyota found that as much as 28 per cent of the carbon dioxide emissions, generated during the life-cycle of a gasoline-powered vehicle, can occur during its manufacture and transportation to the dealer. Even the new hybrids have a much greater environmental impact during their manufacture compared to non-hybrids.
Similarly, yet another decision, thankfully not implemented yet, is to deny fuel to those who do not have pollution-control certificates. The authorities forget that the new Euro III and Euro IV vehicles, even after five years of use, have few complaints of exceeding the norms. Who is the panel trying to fool or is it yet another instance of working at the behest of vested interests who handsomely by selling petrol in ‘black’IJ Pollution check for private vehicles should be done only once in two years and not every three months. The Uttar Pradesh Government found it difficult to implement the decision to deny petrol to the non-helmet wearing riders in November. It led to several brawls and violent incidents.
Similar decision to construct 12ft to 15ft tall revolving iron grills on bridges to stop the immersion of puja waste in rivers has not made the rivers less polluted. The utopian decision has led to corruption within the nexus of bridge builders and the iron forging industry. It has done no good but has increased the cost of projects, caused an avoidable loss to the exchequer, and created grotesque fences.
It appears that the decision was taken with an obvious aim to boost the unholy nexus and not to save the rivers. Do 10tonnes each of Durga or Ganesh puja material in Delhi or Mumbai pollute the channels or millions of tonnes of industrial effluentsIJ The green panel has seemingly become the green pastures for the corrupt. It has unfortunately even tried to mislead the highest court.
According to the Delhi Transport Department, Delhi has a total of about 83,82,284 vehicles registered till January. There are 805,52,508 private vehicles and 3,29,776 commercial vehicles. let us assume that about 20 per cent of these vehicles are more than 15-years-old. But who bears the bruntIJ It is the private vehicle owner, not the commercial sector.
The decision will immediately affect about 16 lakh private vehicle owners and a mere 60,000 commercial vehicle owners. In subsequent years too, it will have at least half these numbers. So the cost of policing and harassment of the common man will increase. The impact on the work of the police and other law enforcement agencies has not been reckoned.
This is not only about Delhi as the scheme will be extended all over the country in phases. The cost on all counts will be phenomenal and not worth it. Should the country be keen on increasing economic activity or should it mired in a thankless job, endless harassment and waste of its manpower on wild goose chases, instead of fixing the criminalsIJ
It is known that private cars, except in exceptional cases, do not add much to pollution. The Transport Department confirms this as normally it re-certifies almost all the vehicles brought to it after the 15-year-limit. In this country, usually those who keep their vehicle in running conditions, as old vehicle maintenance becomes cumbersome and expensive, spend more to keep these fit.
The decision of the green panel will also lead to the creation of many new agencies, usually un-productive, as Ireland has found, like the authorised treatment facility for end-of-life vehicles. It also requires designated sites all over the country, which faces severe land shortage. Another body has to be set up to deal with hazardous wastes that come from various effluents and used parts. Each will add to governance costs and add to the fiscal deficit for dealing with redundant unproductive ideas.