HC seeks ATR on phasing out old vehicles

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday asked the state government to file an Action Taken Report (ATR) on the phasing out of the 15-year-old public vehicles as per the order passed by it in July,2009. Directing the government to place the ATR in three week,the Division Bench of Justice Pinaki Chadra Ghosh and Justice Shukla Kabir Singha also asked the state to place the ATR on the plying of illegal autos and selling of adulterated oil outside Kolkata.

The HC had earlier ordered that 15-year-old public vehicles would not be allowed to ply in the city from August 1,2009 as per the notification issued by the state environment department on July 17,2008. The High Court had also set up a monitoring committee to maintain watch on the phasing out of 15 years old vehicles. Environmentalist Subash Dutta,meanwhile,said that it was not clear how many public vehicles had been phased out since August 1,2009.

The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) today also placed a report on Kolkata’s air quality before the High Court. The report said the pollution level in the air was not good due to auto emission.