SC raps Delhi government for for opposing technology to fight pollution

On Monday the Supreme Court rapped the Delhi government for opposing the use of technology in order to fight pollution in the state Coming harsh on the state government the apex court asked whether the government wants the children to live in good quality air or noDont you want our children to live in good quality air the SupremeCourt asked on August 19 pulling up the Delhigovernment for its opposition to the use of remote sensing technology to help identify polluting vehiclesPhoto IANS pictwittercom6KnwDqgxyimdash IANS Tweets ians_india August 19 2019During the last hearing which took place in July the bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta had asked the Centre and the Delhi Transport Department to respond to the Environment Pollution Control Authority EPCA reportAccording to the EPCA report filed before the apex court a meeting was held on July 16 with all stakeholders or government agencies including the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways MoRTH and the Delhi Transport DepartmentThe meeting focussed on the implementation of remote sensing devices to monitor pollution emitted by vehicles which is referred to as onroad emissions monitoring The technology would also help the government to capture the images of the number plates of the vehicles breaching the emission normsAlso ReadNumber of days with good air quality on rise in Delhi GovernmentSenior advocate Aparajita Singh informed the court that the implementation of this technology was very crucial in order to monitor polluting vehicles Not only would it help in keeping a check on the emission of particulate matter PM but also other hazardous gases like nitrogen oxide NOx and sulphur oxides SOx etcThe Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has already agreed on this matter reports IANS The apex court asked the Delhi government counsel to identify the ground for opposing the implementation of the technology but could not get a convincing replyWhile delivering its verdict the Supreme Court gave the green signal to the technology and have asked the Delhi government to implement it in the state in order to curb pollution The Supreme Court also cautioned the Delhi government to stick to its responsibility for the people in the city and should offer full cooperation on the matter The matter has been fixed for further hearing in the next two monthsThe Delhi government informed the court that it was considering the purchase of only one or two machines and not five machines as suggested by the EPCA The Delhi government cited insufficient experience in the implementation of the technology for not purchasing five machines This response from the government did not go down well with the courtThe amicus had earlier informed the apex court that the technology was already implemented successfully in Kolkata Aparajita Singh told the court that an agency which was tasked by the top court to test the technology had scanned about 176 lakh vehicles and concluded that this technology was useful and could help to curb pollution in DelhiAlso ReadDelhi government below average on traffic management pollution SurveyThe amicus had requested the top court to ask the Delhi Transport Department and MoRTH to respond to its report on the implementation of the technology In contrast to the Delhi government MoRTH submitted an affidavit indicating its response on EPCAs reportAccording to the report MoRTH shall be required to frame rules under the Central Motor Vehicle Act These rules will define the scope of the remote sensing program to enforce and monitor onroad emissions across the state of DelhiAccording to the EPCA report this technology of remote sensing onroad emissions will coexist with the ongoing pollution under control PUC program which adopts the physical verification of the emissions of the vehicles Moreover this remote sensing technology can scan thousands of vehicle every dayAlso ReadSupreme Court directs authorities to start work on Delhi Metro PhaseIV projectThe EPCA report had pinned the implementation of the program in the city by the Delhi government and recommended the Transport Department to publish a global tender for the procurement of this technology Detailing the role of MoRTH the report said it can frame rules regarding the usage of this technology for PUC which includes penalties to enforce strict pollution normsThe apex court was apprised on this technology during the hearing of matter connected with rising levels of air pollution in the cityWith inputs from IANSCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates