Axe on 10-yr-old goods vehicles

  • 21/08/2008

  • Asian Age (New Delhi)

NEW DELHI Within the next two years, 10-year-old commercial vehicles will be phased out from the national capital roads, if the Delhi government has its way. The state government has recently issued a draft notification according to which all 10-year-old commercial vehicles plying on Delhi roads as well as those going in and out of the NCR region will be banned. The move has been taken up to check vehicular pollution and ease traffic on the roads given that at least 800 private as well commercial vehicles are being registered every month in the city. In case the draft is notified in the existing stage, at least two lakhs commercial vehicles face threat of going off the roads, a senior transport official said. As per the draft notification, local buses will be allowed to ply on the roads only if they comply with the CNG norms. "We have invited objections and suggestions till September after which the drafts will be notified,' the official said. Expressing its strong dissatisfaction for controlling traffic chaos in the city, the Delhi high court on Wednesday asked the Delhi police and the Delhi government to find out some concrete formula for smooth functioning of the traffic. "The Delhi traffic is a complete nightmare. You have to wait for hours to reach out a destination of even 2-5 km,' said a division bench comprising of Delhi high court Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and justice S. Muralidhara. The court said the con cerned authorities, the Delhi police and the Delhi government, have to find out a proper solution for this. The court-appointed committee, which was asked to design a proper plan for traffic-related issues, was asked to file a detailed comprehensive report within a period of four weeks. Lack of proper devise to control traffic was a major cause of traffic concern, the court observed