Kaushambi RWA seeks swift action on diesel vehicle ban

GHAZIABAD: Alarmed over the high level of air pollution in the city, residents of Kaushambi have demanded immediate implementation of the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) ban on diesel vehicles older than 10 years, in Delhi and Ghaziabad.
The residents, under the banner of Kaushambi Apartments’ RWAs (KARWA), on Friday served legal notices on authorities in Ghaziabad and Delhi, demanding immediate enforcement of the NGT order that prohibits plying of diesel-run private and commercial vehicles older than 10 years in the NCR.
The notices have been served on the state governments of Delhi and UP, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee and the UP Pollution Control Board among others, according to the KARWA, a federation comprising 22 RWAs.
Delhi Police, Ghaziabad police, Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation and the district administration of Ghaziabad have also been sent copies of the notice.
The Kaushambi township in UP, developed by the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) in the eighties, has been braving the brunt of vehicular pollution due to its close proximity to the ISBT Anand Vihar bus depot, the Kaushambi bus depot and the Anand Vihar railway station.
The township is also close to the Ghazipur landfill site and the Sahibabad Industrial Area, which has further compounded pollution levels in the area.
“There are no checks on old unauthorized buses plying on the Anand Vihar-Mohan Nagar Link Road. Over 25,000 residents of this residential area are staring at a major health crisis owing to the air that has been rendered poisonous by the toxic fumes emitted by diesel vehicles,” said KARWA president Vinay Kumar Mittal.
The federation has also demanded that the authorities ensure that buses not complying with BSIV emission norms or not running on CNG should be banned from operating from the Anand Vihar bus terminus and the Kaushambi bus depot. The authorities have also been urged to ensure that autos and three-wheelers run only on CNG.
A further plea has been made to ensure that all trucks and heavy vehicles plying on NH-24 and NH-58 are tested for ‘air and noise pollution levels’ before being allowed to enter residential areas like Kaushambi.