We Banned Old Cars Without Studying Pollution: CAQM's Damning Admission
In one of the most shocking turn of events, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), which was one of the main agencies behind the banning of 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles, has now made a huge admission. CAQM has recently and very openly admitted that it never conducted any research or study to prove that old vehicles (mentioned above) cause pollution. Yes, you read that right! This admission was made in response to an RTI filed by an environmentalist.
CAQM admits that old vehicles do not pollute
While making this extremely important and self-incriminating admission, CAQM has stated that its policy of banning 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol cars is not based on any scientific evidence. It added that the policy is instead based on old court orders.
Environmentalist Amit Gupta recently revealed this information, as it was provided to him as a reply to his RTI (Right to Information). CAQM, in its written reply, clearly stated that there has been zero independent research conducted so far. This means that the entire ban on old petrol and diesel vehicles, which has caused inconvenience to many owners, is baseless.
So far, as a result of this unscientific and poorly thought-out ban, lakhs of vehicle owners have been penalized without even proving that their vehicles are polluting. This ridiculous way of implementing a blanket ban on old cars has defied all logic and has caused harassment to the general public of the country.
What did CAQM say?
The Commission for Air Quality Management, in its reply, has stated that the ban implemented on old cars stemmed from the NGT’s (National Green Tribunal) 2015 ruling in a case involving Vardhman Kaushik vs Union of India and the Supreme Court's order in M.C. Mehta vs Union of India. No new scientific study was conducted before implementing this ban on the public.
This will backfire on CAQM in court
Recently, a petition was filed by the Government of Delhi to reconsider the ban on old diesel and petrol vehicles, which was ordered in 2018. Now, with the CAQM openly admitting that the ban on these vehicles was unscientific and had no empirical basis, the Delhi government's case will become a lot stronger.
The Government of Delhi will now be able to show that the ban is arbitrary and discriminatory against compliant vehicle owners. It might also request the Supreme Court of India to demand a fresh scientific study before such a sweeping policy can be justified. This new revelation will also ensure that other states, which were about to implement the same ban, will now reconsider it.
In Delhi alone, 62 lakh vehicles have been affected by this ban. Additionally, in NCR districts such as Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, and Sonipat, another 44 lakh vehicles have been affected. In total, over 1 crore vehicles have currently been banned based on a policy that is not backed by any study proving that old vehicles pollute even if they pass emission norms.
We hope that the Supreme Court of India helps in unbanning old cars, as this ban has caused nothing but hassle to owners who have been maintaining their vehicles for years and ensuring that they do not pollute or harm the environment.