UT to take count of 15-year-old vehicles to battle congestion in Chandigarh

CHANDIGARH: In an attempt to fight air pollution and traffic congestion in the city, the Chandigarh administration has started to collect data on private vehicles that are more than 15 years old.

The UT administration will be taking a call on the registration and extension after it determines the exact number of private vehicles that are 15 years old and above in the city.

Chandigarh has already stopped registering commercial vehicles older than 15 years and the UT committee, which was formed after National Green Tribunal (NGT) directions, had suggested that these vehicles should not even be let into the city.

UT administration is contemplating various options to end traffic congestion in the city. The issue was recently discussed in the administrator's advisory council (AAC) meeting. The council members had discussed options like metro, monorail, electric buses and bus rapid transit (BRT).

Recently, the administration had planned to revive the monorail project, which was first proposed 22 years ago, in 1997. The UT administration had also proposed to purchase electric buses on its own after the Centre had declined to fund the electric buses project. The Chandigarh Transport Undertaking wants to induct electric buses in its fleet to cut down on pollution.

With around 1 lakh registered vehicles, Chandigarh has the highest density of vehicles in India. On an average, every house has more than two vehicles, which has led to deterioration of air quality.

Over the years, the quality of air in the city has deteriorated beyond permissible level. Data compiled by the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC) points out that the level of repairable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) has been recorded above the permissible limits, that is, 100 microgram per cubic metre (mcg/cum).