NEW DELHI: Following the Supreme Court's direction of phasing out 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles, Delhi government on Thursday informed the court that a total of 40 lakh old vehicles in the Capital has been de-registered by the authorities.
Advocate Wasim A Qadri, appearing for the Delhi government, informed a bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur, that around 40 lakh vehicles, out of a total 1.1 crore, has been deregistered in the city. This accounts for more than a third of the total number of vehicles plying on Delhi's streets.
Meanwhile, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) also informed the bench that it has created social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook where citizens can lodge complaints about pollution in Delhi-NCR. The court directed the board to issue advertisements about these accounts so that residents are aware of them.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) ANS Nadkarni, appearing for the Centre and CPCB, said 18 complaints had been received on these social media accounts till Wednesday and CPCB has also given a link on its website where one could find the list of 15-year-old petrol and 10-year-old diesel vehicles in Delhi-NCR.
The top court also said three-and-a-half years have gone by since the National Green Tribunal had, on April 7, 2015, passed an order banning plying of 15 year old petrol and 10 year old diesel vehicles in Delhi-NCR, but the directions have not been complied with yet.