(a) whether the Government proposes to notify new vehicular emission standards and develop low carbon transport system to contain the rising pollution level in the country;
(b) if so, the details and status thereof;
(c) the details of the pollution inspection centres for vehicles established in the country during the last three years, State-wise; and
(d) the other measures taken by the Government for effective control of pollution caused by vehicles?
THE MINISTRY OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI PON. RADHAKRISHNAN)
(a) and (b) Emission norms are decided taking into account the quality of fuel made available by oil companies (which come under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas) and other relevant factors. Emission norms for various categories of motor vehicles are specified in rules 115, 115A, 115B, 115C and 115D of Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 (CMVRs). For four wheeled vehicles, Bharat State IV emission norms have been mandated in the National Capital Region and in the cities of Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmadabad, Hyderabad (including Secundrabad), Bangalore, Kanpur, Pune, Surat, Agra, Sholapur, Lucknow. Mass Emission Standards (Bharat Stage IV) shall be applicable in the cities of Puducherry, Mathura, Vapi, Jamnagar, Ankaleshwar, Hissar, Bharatpur, Daman Diu, Silvasa, Unnao, Rae Bareilly, Aligarh, Karnal, Valsad, Yamuna Nagar, Kurukshetra, Nizamabad, Medak and Mehboobnagar in respect of four wheeled vehicles manufactured on or after the 1st October, 2014 except the four wheeled transport vehicles plying on Inter-State Permits or National Permit or All India Tourist Permits, with in the jurisdiction of the said cities.
(c) Rule 115 (7) states that after the expiry of a period of one year from the date on which a motor vehicle was first registered, every such vehicle shall carry a valid ‘Pollution under control’ certificate issued by an agency authorised for this purpose by the State Government. Enforcement of provisions of CMVRs comes in the purview of State Governments/Union Territory Administrations. Hence, the establishment of the pollution inspection centres for vehicles comes under the purview of State Government concerned. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways do not maintain records for the pollution inspection Centres in the country.
(d) Mass emission standards (Bharat Stage-IV) have been notified for two wheelers vide Notification GSR 431(E) dated 4th July, 2014. These will come into force for two wheelers manufactured on and after the 1st April, 2016 for new types of vehicles models and from April, 2017 for existing types of vehicle models. In other parts of the country, Bharat Stage III emission norms are applicable.