In a bid to battle pollution, the Supreme Court has accepted the Central government’s proposal to mark vehicles in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) region with different hologram-based coloured stickers which indicate the nature of fuel in use.
While petrol and CNG-run vehicles will be marked with a light blue coloured sticker, those running on diesel will be marked by an orange one, reports The Indian Express.
Even though public buses, auto rickshaws and cabs running on CNG are marked accordingly, the same cannot be said of other vehicles. The Centre believes that the use of such stickers would be helpful in restricting vehicles on days marked by severe pollution levels. Besides, it believes that this move would prove more effective than the odd-even scheme tested on Delhi’s roads.
Meanwhile, there is talk of marking electric and hybrid vehicles with green number plates. However, this proposal isn’t final and the Ministry of Road Transport is looking into the matter.
In March, the Centre formulated a comprehensive plan to mitigate air pollution in 100 cities. Under its National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), the Central government, in conjunction with its counterparts in the states, has come up with specific targets and timelines to address this public health emergency, as stated in an earlier TBI story. Cities under the NCAP include Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Varanasi, and Chandigarh, among others. Each city will have its own action plan.
As per reports, the Centre is looking to reduce air pollution by 35% in the next three years, and 50% in the next five years, across the 100 cities identified under the NCAP. While formulating the NCAP, the government identified important sources of pollution across various sectors but singled out transport, industry, residential, agriculture and power sectors as significant contributors.
In April, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas introduced BS-VI grade automobile fuel in the national capital to mitigate the effects of vehicular pollution.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)