NEW DELHI: Several resident welfare associations (RWAs) in New Delhi on Thursday lashed out at the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) over its new plan to ban BS-IV four-wheeler diesel vehicles in the capital city if the air quality index (AQI) crosses the 450-mark.
“This is a ridiculous policy. When there already is a policy for pollution under control (PUC) certificates and people are constantly pestered to get their PUC done, then why ban diesel vehicles,” RWA president of Defence Colony Ranjit Singh questioned.
The CAQM has comprehensively revamped the Graded Response Action Plan -- a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in Delhi and its vicinity according to the severity of the situation. The revised plan, which is part of a new policy formulated by the CAQM, entails a ban on BS-IV four-wheeler diesel vehicles in Delhi and the bordering districts of NCR if the AQI breaches the 450-mark. Vehicles engaged in essential services are exempt.