Even as the National Green Tribunal’s order banning all vehicles older than 15 years from the streets of the capital to help reduce pollution levels is hanging fire, the Government has approved setting up of centres for testing vehicles’ ‘health’.
Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways has approved a scheme for setting-up of model Automated Inspection & Certification (I&C) centres for motor vehicles. The recommendation for these vehicle testing centres was first made in October 2010 but the project did not make much headway.Delhi alone is home to 3 million vehicles including motorbikes, trucks, cars and auto-rickshaws which are over 15 years old. The vehicles need frequent tests both to assess safety standards and fuel efficiency.
“At least 10 such centres will be set up across cities. We want State Governments also to replicate the models across big cities,” said an official from the Ministry.“Under the scheme, one such model Centre would be established in each State and Union Territory, which will be open for replication by State Governments,” he said.While the Government has so far sanctioned 10 centres it plans to increase the numbers to at least 100 in the next five years.
“Since these centres will be grossly insufficient to meet the demand owing to very high vehicular traffic, we are also working on a model, where we can expand the number of centres under the Public-Private Partnership mode,” said the official.As per plans, the centres would come up in the States of Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana), Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and National Capital Territory of Delhi.
“Work is in progress and is at different stages of completion. We should have them ready by the end of 2015,” said the official. During the 12th plan, the proposals have been invited from State Governments for setting up model Centres. Preference will be given to those States where no I&C Centre has been sanctioned by the Ministry.