40 lakh vehicles deregistered in Delhi, SC told

The Delhi government on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it has deregistered 40 lakh vehicles, out of a total of 1.1 crore, which include vehicles running on petrol and diesel that are over 15 years and 10 years old respectively.

A bench headed by Justice Madan B. Lokur said that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the apex court had passed an order three-and-a-half years ago, directing all 15-year-old petrol vehicles and 10-year-old diesel vehicles to be barred from the city's roads, adding that there has been no initiative from the Delhi government so far to implement the order.

The counsel appearing for the Delhi government informed the bench that in compliance with the order, as many as 40 lakh vehicles have been deregistered under the Motor Vehicle Act.

The Delhi government further said the by December 30, Radio and Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) will be installed at 13 entry points in the city in order to check entry of commercial vehicles.

The top court ordered that priority should be given to the entry points with high congestion of vehicles coming from different cities.

"You should give priority to congested entry points where entry of commercial vehicles are high because that will have a greater impact," Justice Lokur said.

Amicus Curiae advocate Aparajita, assisting the court in the air pollution matter, told the bench that there was rampant corruption at entry points of commercial vehicles and, as per a report, the number of vehicles and collection of money did not match.

With the installation of RFIDs for commercial vehicle, everything will be automated so that human interference is avoided, the lawyer added.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) also told the court that accounts on Facebook and Twitter have been created to allow citizens to complain about pollution. It has received 18 complaints so far.

The top court asked the CPCB to publicise the social media sites and set November 26 as the date for further hearing in matters related to air pollution.

Earlier, the Apex Court had directed the CPCB to open social media account so that citizens can complain about pollution.