RWAs slam plan to ban BS-IV diesel vehicles if AQI crosses 450-mark

| | NEW DELHI
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RWAs slam plan to ban BS-IV diesel vehicles if AQI crosses 450-mark

Friday, 15 July 2022 | PNS | NEW DELHI

Several resident welfare associations (RWAs) in the national Capital on Thursday lashed out at the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) over its new plan to ban BS-IV four-wheeler diesel vehicles in Delhi if the air quality index (AQI) crosses 450.

RWA president of Defence Colony Ranjit Singh questioned, "This is a ridiculous policy. When there already is a policy for pollution under control (PUC) certificates and people are constantly pestered to get their PUC done, then why ban diesel vehicles?" The CAQM has comprehensively revamped Graded Response Action Plan — a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in Delhi and its vicinity according to the severity of the situation. The revised plan, which is part of a new policy formulated by the CAQM, entails a ban on BS-IV four-wheeler diesel vehicles in Delhi and the bordering districts of NCR if the AQI breaches the 450-mark. Vehicles engaged in essential services are exempt.

B S Vohra, president of the East Delhi RWAs joint front, said instead of banning BS IV four-wheeler diesel vehicles, the PUC certification policy should be made more stringent.

"First, they pester citizens to get PUC done. If someone does not have a PUC, a fine of Rs 10,000 is imposed. Why did they introduce the PUC certification policy in the first place if they had to ultimately nullify it," he asked.

The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), notified by Ministry of Environment in 2017, comes into force in mid-October when air pollution levels start worsening.

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