Delhi govt moves SC for registration of diesel-run ambulances

Delhi Government today moved the Supreme Court seeking modification of its last year's order to make the norms easier for registration of 110 diesel-run ambulances with engine capacity beyond 2000 CC.
The application is likely to come up for hearing before the apex court later.
The Delhi government made the plea to the apex court to hear the matter, as earlier too, the court had modified its December 16, 2015 order to address the exigencies faced by different departments and security agencies.
Diesel-run sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and high-end private cars with engine capacity of 2000 CC and above were prohibited by the apex court from registration in Delhi and the National Capital Region till March 31 this year in order to curb the alarming rise in pollution levels.

It had also directed 100 per cent hike in the Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) being levied on light and heavy commercial vehicles entering Delhi and had said its directions were aimed at mitigating the hardship of residents of Delhi "that has earned to it the dubious reputation of being the most polluted city in the world."
The bench had doubled the ECC being levied on light duty vehicles and three-axle vehicles for entering Delhi.

Now, light duty vehicles, carrying goods, will have to pay Rs 1400, instead of 700 and three-axle vehicles Rs 2,600, instead of 1,300 as ECC for entering Delhi.

The court, hearing various pleas including the 1984 PIL filed by Environmentalist M C Mehta, had asked the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan to take steps "to ensure that commercial traffic for destinations other than Delhi use alternative routes and to ensure that in the course of implementation of the said direction, no traffic jams and other inconvenience is caused to the public."
The apex court also asked the Centre to file an Action
Taken Report (ATR) on setting up of real time Air Quality Monitoring Centres in Delhi-NCR region in compliance with apex court's order.
The Solictor General also informed the court that government has notified the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on January 12 in compliance with court's earlier order.

The apex court had on December 2 last year accorded its nod to the GRAP to tackle different levels of pollution. It had also asked the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to upgrade its existing infrastructure and set up additional monitoring stations in Delhi-NCR within six months.
The Centre had told the apex court that when air pollution reaches alarming proportion, immediate steps were required to be taken including ban on construction activities and implementation of the odd-even scheme.
The court had said that enforcement of GRAP shall be under the orders of EPCA and all other authorities should act in aid of such direction.

Salve, who is the amicus curiae in a 1985 PIL filed by environmentalist M C Mehta, had also highlighted the ill- effects of petrcoke and furnace oil used in industries on ambient air and said that the emissions from such units were highly toxic as these released high sulphur.
The GRAP, aimed at reducing air pollution, has enumerated a number of measures which include closing brick kilns, hot mix plants, stone crushers, intensifying public transport services besides increase in frequency of mechanised cleaning of road and sprinkling of water on roads.