Delhi Government’s “sample reality test” of diesel vehicles of different age will be conducted on April 21 in the presence of NGT-appointed commissioners, officials of Transport Department, transport unions, environmentalists and media, said Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai. The Minister has written to the Central Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari seeking a joint meeting with Transport Ministers of UP and Haryana to come up with a joint action plan on the issue.
In the letter to Gadkari, Rai has also requested the installation of weigh-in motion sensors at major entry points of Delhi to identify overloaded vehicles. Pointing out that such sensors have been installed by National Highway Authority of India as pilot projects in some southern States like Karnataka and Maharashtra, the Minister wrote, “May I request you to issue direction to NHAI for installation of weigh in motion on major highways from where the entry of trucks happens at a very high frequency in territory of NCT of Delhi and entire NCR region.”
Meanwhile, on the issue of the ban on old diesel vehicles, Rai said that he had a meeting with Central as well as State transport unions on Tuesday. “Their main contention is that the 10-year-benchmark for diesel vehicles needs to reconsidered. How can a vehicle that is 9 years and 11 months old be permitted, while a vehicle that is 10 years and one month old is unfitIJ So we have decided to conduct an on-the-spot sample reality test on April 21 in Burari Authority where vehicles of different age will be tested,” Rai said.
He added that the test will be conducted in the presence of all the stakeholders to arrive at a common viewpoint so they can proceed further on the issue of NGT ban on over 10-year-old diesel vehicles. In the letter, Rai has brought up the issue of changes that need to be made in Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, so that the NGT order could be implemented. As per the present Act, the registering authority may, on receipt of an application under Sub-Section (8), renew the certificate of registration for a period of five years, wrote Rai.
The Minister has also called for a meeting next week with MCDs, Department of Environment, Transport Department and other concerned departments to formulate views on points demanded by NGT. The NGT had earlier stayed for two weeks its order to ban diesel vehicles older than 10 years, and had asked for views from concerned departments on the same.