In order to effectively implement the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order banning more than 10-year-old diesel-run vehicles, the Arvind Kejriwal Government on Monday said it would approach the Centre to seek an amendment in the Motor Vehicles Act for having “legal rights” to impound such vehicles. According to the Delhi Government, there is currently no provision in existing laws, which empower the departments concerned to impound vehicles that are over 10 years old.
The Delhi Government on Monday held a meeting of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana transport officials to assess the situation emerging out of NGT issue. Officials said those who attended the meeting said that unless the Centre amends Motor Vehicles Act, there was no provision in the existing Act to impound diesel vehicles of over 10 years.
Over 1,000 such vehicles impounded by Transport Department and Delhi Traffic Police are not legally tenable in court. Besides, officials also discussed that there would be massive traffic jam situation without the U-turn facilities at the border areas for the polluted vehicles to return. Currently, there are no U-turns at border area connecting Delhi-Noida or Delhi-Ghaziabad or Delhi-Gurgaon. The Delhi Government has also formed a five-member high-level committee comprising officials of Delhi, UP and Haryana to check overloading.
After the meeting, Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai, said, “Until an amendment is made by the Centre in the Motor Vehicles Act, Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh will legally not be able to implement NGT’s order as existing laws do not allow department officials to impound vehicles more than 10-15 years old.”
He said that only police, as per existing laws, has power to impound such vehicles but there is no law in the existing act that allow officials to impound vehicle which are of 10 years old.
“In the meeting, it was decided that I would write to Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to convene a meeting with Delhi, Haryana, UP’s Transport Ministers so that a joint planning could be made to implement the NGT’s order. We will also seek amendment in Motor Vehicles Act so that the new law could give legal rights to Transport Department to impound such types of vehicles,” he said.
The Transport Minister said that Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh will ask the Central Government to direct the National Highways Authority of India to install ‘Weigh in Motion’ machines along the National Highways in the NCR region, so that overloaded vehicles, particularly trucks can be easily tracked down. “Such trucks are one of the biggest sources of air pollution. These machines have been installed by the NHAI at many highways across the country,” Rai said.
The Delhi Transport Minister also informed that it was also decided that all three States — Haryana, Delhi and UP — will start a drive to take action against overloaded vehicles. “Three States have agreed to start a joint drive from April 15,” he said.
A five-member team, headed by Transport Joint Commissioner Anand Tiwari, has been formed for this purpose. Delhi Transport Department’s Deputy Commissioner Yogesh Pratap, Mayank Jyoti (Uttar Pradesh’s Transport Deparment), Sushil Sarwan and Rajeev Ahlawat (Haryana’s Transport Department) will also be members of the committee.