New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal rapped the Delhi Police on Tuesday asking why it has not taken any action against vehicles more than 15 years old from plying on the roads in the national capital.
"Why do not you (Police) take action against 15-year-old vehicles which are plying on roads here? What have you done so far? Why do not you challan them?" a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar asked.
Responding to it, the police told the bench that they have challaned around 1,000 such vehicles and have also started to impound them.
The bench was also informed by the petitioner that only diesel taxis were impounded in pursuance to Supreme Court's order which had on April 30 refused to extend deadline fixed for conversion of diesel taxis plying in national Capital into less-polluting CNG mode.
To this, the bench asked the police, "Are there any petrol vehicle more than 15 years old which you have impounded."
It asked the police to furnish by tomorrow the entire data of vehicles challaned and impounded by it. During the hearing, the bench also pulled up the Delhi government over the issue of pollution from dust and municipal waste burning.
"What NCT of Delhi is doing about dust and municipal waste burning? We have told your (government) Chief Secretary to hold meeting and finalise a plan for it," the bench said.
The advocates appearing for the government and the civic agencies told the bench that they were taking steps in this regard after which the green panel asked them to file complete details before it and fixed the matter for hearing tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the bench asked Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) about the data of ambient air quality in Delhi recorded during the recently concluded second phase of odd-even scheme.
CPCB's advocate informed the bench that data was "under compilation" and they would furnish it soon.
The NGT had on Monday taken Delhi government to task for its failure to implement its order banning vehicles more than 15 years old from plying on the roads here. It had also slammed the government over incidents of waste burning and dust pollution in the national capital.
Earlier, the tribunal had asked Delhi government and other authorities to create awareness about air pollution caused by vehicular emissions and burning of municipal solid waste and issue advertisements on the lines of the odd-even scheme.
