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HC stays NGT ban on diesel vehicles. Providing a respite to the Kerala State
Road Transport Corporation, (KSRTC), private bus operators and owners of diesel
vehicles of 2,000 cc and above, the Kerala High Court on Friday stayed the
directive of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Kochi Special Circuit Bench, to
the government to ban diesel vehicles older than 10 years in six cities in the State.
Justice P.B. Suresh Kumar had earlier stayed the tribunal‘s directive restraining the
State government from registering new diesel vehicles of 2000 cc and above
except that of the public or local authorities. The judge issued the interim order
staying the NGT‘s directive to ban 10-year-old diesel vehicles in
Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode, and Kannur cities on
writ petitions filed by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and
the Kerala State Private Bus Operators‘ Federation.
The court pointed out that counsel for the KSRTC and the private bus
operators contended that the Supreme Court in M.C. Mehta vs. Union of India and
others case had prohibited use of diesel vehicles of more than 15 years in Delhi
after granting the bus operators reasonable time to replace their vehicles. The court
observed that a perusal of the apex court judgment would indicate that the decision
was rendered having regard to the air pollution level in the national capital region
of Delhi. The court also referred to the arguments of the counsel that the air quality
level in the State was far superior to that in Delhi. That apart, no data was available
with the tribunal regarding the air quality level prevailing in the six cites. ―In the
circumstances, the petitioners had made out a strong prima facie case‖ for staying
the NGT order.