Following the GRAP restriction on plying BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel cars as well as those with emission standards below it, the transport department on Friday took action against 122 errant four-wheeler owners.
The restriction came into effect on Thursday as Graded Response Action Plan Stage III was introduced by Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas after Delhi’s air quality index fell into the “severe” category.
According to a notification issued by the transport department, any four-wheeler found to be violating the norms will be fined INR 20,000. The restriction has placed close to 1.5 lakh petrol four-wheelers in the city under the “not to ply” category. Of these, 1.3 lakh come under Bharat Stage-III, 18,397 under Euro 2 and 3,752 under Euro 3 standards. In the diesel vehicle category, 2.3 lakh are to go off the road – 2.3 lakh under BS-IV and 1,555 under Euro 4.
Bharat Stage or BS is the emission standard that all motor vehicles have to comply with if they are to be sold and driven in India. Currently, all new vehicles sold and registered in the country should be compliant with the BS-VI emission standards. Euro or European standards are also vehicle emission standards for pollution.
Since the implementation of GRAP-II on October 22, the transport department has impounded 211 overloaded trucks and issued 2,981 challans to vehicles without a valid pollution certificate.
Since November 1, buses that operate between Delhi and NCR areas of Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh must either be an electric, CNG or BS-VI diesel vehicle. The transport department has so far impounded 209 buses. A senior Delhi government official said enforcement teams were being deployed across Delhi, with focus on 13 hotspots, including Rohini, Dwarka, Okhla, Punjabi Bagh, Vivek Vihar and Wazirpur.
Thirty bike patrolling teams are checking pollution certificates and over 80 teams are deployed around the hotspots at the border areas and on inner and outer Ring Roads to tackle congestion due to buses.
Environment minister Gopal Rai said, “Some important projects have been exempted, but they will have to strictly follow all the standards to prevent dust pollution.”
