Guwahati, Dec 6: Among all the issues gripping the country, air pollution is one of the major concerns for India as the degrading Air Quality Index (AQI) every now and then affects senior citizens, children, and people with breathing issues to the extent of getting admitted to the hospital.
To address this major issue, the central and Assam government are trying to implement several plans to combat air pollution including the introduction of electric vehicles (EVs), odd/even rules, scrapping of old vehicles, ban on the sale and manufacturing of firecrackers and imposing hefty fines on vehicles failing to provide valid pollution certificate among others.
In 2021, the District Transport Office (DTO), Kamrup (Metro) launched a mega drive to take strict action against the vehicles plying without valid pollution certificates as at the time, black smoke became a common sight in the city streets.
That year, mobile pollution testing stations were launched and the pollution testing centres were asked to prepare themselves. During the initial days, getting a pollution certificate at the earliest became difficult as these testing centres were filled with huge lines of vehicles all day long.
Though criticised by many for the sudden drive, a few sections of people appreciated the measure as the sight of black smoke in the city streets reduced to a great extent.
Even now, a few heavy vehicles, including buses, releasing black smoke are seen plying in the city, though in lesser numbers than earlier, however, it does not change the fact that it still contributes to the air pollution.
Surprisingly, these vehicles are not limited to privately owned vehicles, but also the ones owned by the state government such as Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) buses.
The transport department informed that during the monthly checking in November 2023, at least 25 ASTC buses were found plying without proper pollution certificates. This implies that even after almost three years of the anti-pollution drive, government-owned vehicles are running without valid pollution certificates, let alone the private ones.
While speaking to The Assam Tribune, Himangshu Kumar Das, DTO Kamrup (Enforcement) said, “As these buses run on diesel, black smoke may be seen when they start the engines of the vehicles in the morning. However, to ensure that these don’t contribute to air pollution, we check their smoke certificates. If their certificates are unsatisfactory, we send a letter to ASTC imposing fines and direct them to take some action. Sometimes, we also seize these vehicles. Accordingly, the management takes action against the employees and drivers for improper maintenance.”
He further informed, “During the monthly drive in November, we found more than 25 ASTC buses without valid pollution certificates.”
It might seem like a lesser number, however, given that the anti-pollution drive began three years ago, these figures don’t settle well for the state government. The record is only for the month of November, and it is unclear how many buses might have violated the rules in the last 11 months combined.
It could be noted that the state government did replace the old ASTC city buses with CNG-powered buses, but time will tell how is it going to contribute to combating air pollution if the diesel buses with such conditions are still plying.
Meanwhile, The Assam Tribune tried to reach the Managing Director of ASTC for a comment on the matter, however, despite trying several times, he remained unavailable over phone calls and email.
