New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday directed the Delhi government to ban all diesel vehicles, which are more than 10 years old, in the national capital.
Last month a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar had directed the city government to submit the exact number of diesel vehicles plying in the capital and their impact on air quality by April 7.
The tribunal said it was “pained” to note that despite its repeated persuasive and mandatory orders, the authorities have not risen to take effective steps.
“Existing state of affairs, the scientific data indicates the problem is very severe and its result can be drastic if permitted to persist. The response of authorities is lacking will, bona fide and shifting of responsibilities from one department to another and finding faults with different departments has been the defence before us,” the tribunal said.
Last week, the Delhi government had asked transport authorities to prepare a comprehensive realistic data on private vehicles which are 15 or more years old.
According to government statistics, there are about 28 lakh vehicles which are more than 15 years old. But this list, based on registration data, does not include vehicles which may have been disposed off, sold, transferred or shifted out of Delhi.