Kolkata: The National Green Tribunal’s eastern bench on Tuesday issued an air clean-up order that calls for scrapping all vehicles, commercial and private, that are over 15 years old within six months in 32 cities across the state including Kolkata and Howrah. It also ordered phasing out of public transport (buses and cabs) that have emission norms below Bharat Stage IV within the same time-frame.
The ruling could lead to scrapping of over 20 lakh vehicles in the city and over 70 lakh vehicles in the rest of the state by March 2023.
The order has led to consternation among vehicle owners since the Centre and state rules mandate phasing out of private cars after 20 years. The Calcutta HC had in 2008 ordered phasing out of only 15-year-old commercial vehicles in Kolkata Metropolitan Area. Private vehicles were kept out of the ban purview.
In the commercial segment, too, there was confusion among public transport operators since BS-IV norms were introduced in 13 major Indian cities, including Kolkata, in April 2010. This means many BS-III vehicles still have three years to go before they turn 15.
“How can there be varying norms for the same category of vehicles?” said Tapan Banerjee, secretary, Joint Council of Bus syndicates.