source – indiatoday.in
Hours after the Supreme Court came down heavily on state governments for failing to take adequate measures to curb air pollution the Bihar government decided to ban 15-year-old vehicles in Patna. The government has also decided to ban all government vehicles over 15-year-old across the state.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday convened an emergency meeting over the pollution crisis which was attended by Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Environment Sushil Kumar Modi, Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar, Chairman of Bihar Pollution Control Board Ashok Ghosh, Patna commissioner of Police Sanjay Kumar Agarwal and Patna DM Kumar Ravi.
The Environment department gave a presentation on the pollution situation prevailing across the state.
During the meeting it was decided that no commercial vehicles more than 15-year-old will be allowed in Patna. It was also decided that the state government will ban all government vehicles that are more than 15-year-old across the state.
Giving relaxation to private vehicle owners, the government has decided to allow vehicles more than 15-year-old only after they get pollution under control (PUC) certificates.
“The state government has taken an important decision to curb pollution in the state which includes banning of old commercial vehicles. It has been found that vehicles account for almost 30 per cent of the pollution in the state. All the decisions taken in the meeting will be notified tomorrow,” said Deepak Kumar, chief secretary Bihar.
It may be mentioned that the air quality in Patna has worsened after Diwali. Air Quality Index (AQI) on Monday almost touched the 400-mark, which is the worst in the state. Air quality in Muzaffarpur and Gaya was slightly better but remained in the very poor category at 369 and 317, respectively.