PUNE: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) western zone bench, Pune has summoned the state transport department over its decision to reissue 50,000 permits to ply new autorickshaws in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. The department has been asked to present its say before the tribunal on March 18.
The department's decision to reissue permits to autorickshaw drivers to ply on crowded Mumbai and Navi Mumbai roads was challenged by a Mumbai-based labour rights' group citing noise and air pollution.
The petition was filed by Shafi Mohamed Meer, founder of Jagrut Autorickshaw Men's Union, a labour rights group to seek clarification on why the department decided to issue new permits and renew old ones, overlooking the environmental damage, noise and air pollution.
The petition also appealed to the tribunal to direct that appropriate assessment of impact on air and noise levels be done by Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) on air and noise pollution in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Vashi, Kalyan, Thane, Panvel, Pen, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Jalgaon, Jalna, Nashik, Beed, Chandrapur, Yavatmal, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Nanded, Nandurbar, Latur and Akola where old autorickshaws are in use.
"A judgment on this petition will have an impact on all policy decisions of the government on issuance of old permits in the state," said advocate Asim Sarode, who represented the petitioner.
"The petition also says that the road infrastructure does not have the capacity to carry such a huge number of vehicles, but it has not been taken into consideration while taking this decision. It also raised concerns about how the government can compel the CNG gas user to have a pollution under control (PUC) certificate when it has been declared that CNG is an environment friendly fuel, among other things," he said.
The state government in an advertisement on January 24 decided to allocate new auto permits across the state. The petition said the government has decided to issue 50,000 new permits for autorickshaws and renew old permits on the grounds that CNG does not cause pollution.
"However, there are various documented studies that show that autorickshaws, even those that run on CNG, cause pollution, which puts at risk the health of the general public, autorickshaw drivers and passengers," he added.
The petition also appealed to the tribunal to issue a stay on sanctioning of new autorickshaw permits and re-issuing of old expired permits considering the environmental hazards.
