The SC has admitted an appeal from the central govt seeking the court vacate the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order which had refused to lift the ban on diesel vehicles on Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) roads which were more than 10 years old.
The Centre has pleaded that diesel fuelled defence vehicles, school buses, tractors & private vehicles should be exempted from the blanket ban.
In its petition, the Centre has sought stay of the tribunal order as this would cause hardship to the owners of the vehicles whose livelihood depends on these vehicles. The Centre has given reason why the specific categories of vehicles need to be taken out of the blanket ban.
Earlier, the govt had raised questions on the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order saying that under the Motor Vehicle Act, fitness & pollution under control (PUC) tests of a vehicle decide whether it’s fit to ply on the road & there is no other criteria. Officials & Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari had said that vehicle owners had paid advance road tax for 15 years while registering their vehicles. But many of these vehicles have been taken off the roads because of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order.
The Centre has submitted that the power to fix the age of vehicle lies with the the central govt & provision of cancellation of registration has been laid down in the Motor Vehicle Act.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has passed several orders directing the de-registration of 10-year-old diesel vehicles in National Capital Region (NCR).
The Centre’s appeal gains significance considering that the apex court on previous occasions had gone ahead with taking radical measures to check air pollution in the national capital & its adjoining regions.
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