Places where noise and air pollution levels are found to be abnormally high, as per the data recorded by the pollution monitoring stations in the city, could soon be declared “silent zones” where parking or stopping of vehicles and honking will be prohibited.
Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) on Wednesday assured the High Court of Karnataka that it would issue within a fortnight directions to the authorities to prohibit parking and stopping of vehicles in the areas to be identified by the board based on the pollution monitoring data. KSPCB counsel Gururaj Joshi made these submissions in response to a suggestion by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D.H. Waghela and Justice Ram Mohan Reddy that the board should first tackle the pollution levels in the areas where pollution level monitoring equipments were installed.
The Bench said the authorities would take prompt action to enforce the “silent zone” norms. The Bench was hearing a PIL petition suo motu initiated by the court on high noise and air pollution levels in the city.
New vehicles
Meanwhile, the government told the Bench that it was not practical to restrict registration of new vehicles in the city as new vehicles could be purchased in other parts of the State brought to the city.
BBMP’s assurance
The BBMP on Wednesday assured the court that it would make all the pavements in the city user friendly by three months, besides taking action within six months against illegal use of parking areas earmarked in the basement of all commercial complexes.
