1.60 lakh vehicles to be off road in Karnal from Dec 1

Tribune News Service

Karnal, November 19

Around 1.60 lakh petrol and diesel vehicles that are more than 15 years and 10 years old, respectively, will be impounded in the district, which is also part of the National Capital Region (NCR), and sent for dismantling from December 1.

The state Transport Department is taking the measure in the NCR in compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court dated October 29, 2018, and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) dated April 7, 2015. Both had ordered the state government to cancel the registration and stop the plying of all diesel and petrol-powered vehicles that have crossed a decade and 15 years of the shelf life, respectively, in the wake of the increasing pollution level in the NCR. The Regional Transport Authority (RTA) will be the enforcing agency.

“We have received directions from the Additional Chief Secretary, Transport Department, in compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court and the NGT. We will start a special campaign and any diesel and petrol vehicle, which had crossed the shelf life, found plying in the district will be impounded immediately,” said Nishant Kumar Yadav, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC)-cum-Secretary RTA.

The vehicles, after impounding, would be sent to scrap dealers for dismantling and the amount would be given to the owners of the vehicles, he added.

Yadav said that there were around 10,000 heavy diesel vehicles, 1.20 lakh private petrol vehicles, including two-wheelers, and 30,000 private diesel vehicles, including cars, that have crossed the stipulated ages.

“We will keep the record of the impounded vehicles and the details will also be sent to the Central Pollution Board on a weekly basis for publication on its website as well as of the Transport Department,” he said.

Yadav said that a hologram-based coloured stickers would be pasted on the windshields of the new vehicles registered in the district to indicate the nature of fuel being used. Light blue sticker would indicate petrol and CNG vehicles, orange diesel vehicles while grey stickers would mean all other vehicles.