NEW DELHI: The clampdown on diesel vehicles, and other measures ordered by the Supreme Court to tackle air pollution in the capital, will now extend to the entire NCR as well.
The SC-mandated Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA), headed by Enforcement Directorate chiefBhure Lal, on Saturday laid out a preliminary plan of how certain aspects of the order will be implemented in NCR. This is part of the common "air-shed" or regional approach that activists have been campaigning for all along, since air pollution has "no borders".
No new private diesel vehicles above 2000cc will be registered in any part of NCR as per SC's recent orders, environmentalist SunitaNarain, an EPCA member, said. Three districts of Uttar Pradesh and four districts of Haryana located close to Delhi will register only CNG autos and taxis from now on. No diesel taxis or autos will be registered or be given fitness certificates. No new diesel buses will be registered in these districts and no fitness certificates will be issued to diesel buses in these districts from June 1. EPCA members said the implementation of the SC's orders will be done in phases, with the first conversions to CNG to be done for autos and taxis. No vehicle registered in 2005 or earlier will be allowed to enter Delhi through any of the entry points, EPCA decided.
