Mobile emission checking units to smoke out polluters in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: A dozen vehicles fitted with emission checking equipment will patrol the streets of Bengaluru to crack down on polluting vehicles as authorities are pulling up socks to ensure the IT capital does not go the New Delhi way.

The mobile emission testing units are the result of a partnership between the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and the Transport Department to keep a check on vehicular pollution, the largest contributor to air pollution in Bengaluru. This comes even as alarm bells on air pollution have gone off in New Delhi, which has been enveloped by a thick smog since the Diwali festival, with particulate matter levels at almost 15 times above the limit in some areas.

“These vans have emission equipment on board and emission tests will be done on the go. Cases will be filed against those that exceed national standards,“ KSPCB chairperson Lakshman said. The 12 mobile units will be pressed into service after a formal launch by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on November 16, he said.


In Bengaluru, too, respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) levels exceeded the national limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre at all the 12 monitoring stations run by the KSPCB, data for April 2015 to March 2016 showed. Vehicles contribute 42% of particulates and 67% of nitrogen oxides in Bengaluru's air, according to a recent study by New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment.

“The KSPCB and the Transport Department will form a joint squad to use the mobile units for on-the-spot verification of pollution control certificates held by vehicle owners,“ Joint Commissioner for Transport (enforcement) J Jnanendra Kumar said.

The mobile units will also have smoke meters for diesel vehicles and gas analysers for petrol vehicles. “We'll issue check reports and levy spot fines.“

According to Lakshman, the mobile units will keep up the pressure on the government to ban vehicles that are over 15 years old, a recommendation KSPCB has already made before the state government. Kumar concurred and said, “Emissions levels are normal in newer vehicles as they come with Euro-4 or BS-IV standards. The real problem is with the older ones, mainly transport vehicles."

Sharachchandra Lele, a senior fellow at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, pointed out that Bengaluru has only two major sources of pollution-vehicular and construction. “Delhi has agricultural residue burning and thermal power plants in addition," he said and welcomed the mobile emission testing units. “But how will the authorities ensure polluting vehicles go off roads?
They need to think the last mile through,“ he added.