SC seeks response from Centre, Delhi Govt on diesel vehicles

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the Centre and the Delhi government on a PIL seeking curbs on diesel vehicles to control the air pollution, posing health hazards to the residents of the Capital.

A Bench headed by the Chief Justice also issued notices to them and tagged the PIL, filed by advocate Meet Malhotra, with other similar pending petitions which have drawn the apex court's attention towards the rise in pollution levels due to increasing vehicular population here.

Malhotra contended that diesel engines are more polluting and their exhaust contains ten to thousand times more harmful particles than that of petrol-run vehicles.

He pointed out that due to diesel-run vehicles the resperable suspended particulate matter was five-six times above the safe standards which leads to increase in disease like asthama and cancer.

The subsidy provided by Government on diesel was encouraging the use of vehicles running on this fuel, he said adding that in advanced country diesel-run vehicle were used sparsely.

The use of diesel vehicle has defeated the purpose for which CNG was introduced in the public transport buses.

The apex court has treated a letter written in November last by Bhure Lal, who helped introduce CNG-run environment friendly buses in the Capital, as a petition in which he drew Supreme Court's attention towards the alarming rise in pollution levels due to the increasing vehicular population here.