Traffic chaos near Kaushambi: NGT slams UP govt for inaction

The National Green Tribunal today reprimanded Uttar Pradesh government for its failure to control traffic chaos near Kaushambi Bus Terminal on the Delhi bordering and directed the traffic police to penalise offending vehicles.
"Why are you permitting private buses outside UP Roadways bus terminus in Kaushambi? Why don't you remove the encroachments on the road? There is a lot of municipal solid waste lying on the road. Don't clean the area just once a week. You have employed humans to clean the streets. Why don't you have machines to clean the roads.
"When human beings clean the roads, they throw the dust in the air and 70 per cent of it flies in the air. What is the idea of cleaning then? You don't even provide masks to your workers. Let every bus which is parked on road be challaned by traffic police," a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said.

The green panel also directed commissioner of Ghaziabad municipal corporation and Superintendent of Police Ghaziabad to appear before it.
During the proceedings, the Tribunal also slammed the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) for not concretising their bus terminal and parking their vehicles in a haphazard manner.
The counsel for UP roadways told the bench they complied with all environmental norms but the state government was responsible for the traffic mess as they have allotted parking space to private buses below every metro pillar.

"There are private buses parked on road on which we have no control. They block the roads and cause traffic jams. Besides, there are illegal shops and other encroachments on the road. Additionally, there are private vehicles including cars parked on roads by those who visit Pacific Mall in Kaushambi," the counsel said.

The green panel was hearing a petition filed by Kaushambi Apartments Residents Welfare Association (KARWA) which had contended that the presence of two bus terminus within 200 metres of each other has aggravated air pollution in the area.
Seeking relocation of the bus terminus, the plea said "Two interstate bus depots (Anand Vihar ISBT and UPSRTC Bus Stand), a state highway, national highway (NH24 and SH27) and two industrial areas (Sahibabad Industrial Area and Patparganj Industrial Area) have engulfed a residential township (Kaushambi) into a pollution disaster zone," the plea said.