Green Tribunal order will hit public transport system: Minister

Thiruvananthapuram: The interim order of Green Tribunal to withdraw diesel vehicles older than ten years from six cities of the State will, in effect, take away 6100 transport vehicles and 40000 non transport vehicles from the roads of Kerala,  Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran informed the Assembly on Tuesday.

KSRTC, the major public transport agency in the State, will have to withdraw 1102 buses and 117 vehicles including vans and lorries that assist services. This constitutes 19% of the vehicles run by KSRTC. There are around 6600 stage carriages providing services in the state, which will have to be withdrawn if the order is implemented, the Minister A.K. Saseendran said in response to question raised by P. B. Abdul Razak (CPI-M).

An implementation of this order may severely affect transportation services across the State as many services connecting rural areas to cities will have to be withdrawn. This may also affect the citizen’s right to mobility, the Minister said. Most of the lorries that transport goods and services and public service vehicles from outside the State come under the 10 years old bracket. This may legally limit their operation in State. This will disturb normal transportation and will lead to increase in price of essential commodities, Mr. Saseendran said.

It was on May 23 this year that the Cochin circuit bench of Green Tribunal passed an order to withdraw diesel vehicles that are more than 10 years old. KSRTC and Private Bus Operators’ Federation have filed separate petitions before the High Court against this order. The High Court as per its order on June 10 stayed implementation of the Tribunal’s order for two months. The State Government has already filed a writ petition before the High Court in this regard .Steps have also been taken to submit an affidavit to the Green Tribunal stating facts. Besides, a caveat petition will also be filed in the Supreme Court, the Minister said.

The immediate implementation of the order would hold the Government responsible to refund around Rs. 270 crore as tax is collected as life time tax for a period of 15 years.

Government is currently planning to implement environment friendly CNG vehicles across the State in a phased manner.  There is an allocation in the current budget for purchasing CNG vehicles in Eranakulam city. The feasibility of electric vehicles is also looked into by the Government.

The phasing out of diesel vehicles will be done ensuring availability of gas filling stations and necessary support systems as required, the Minister said in a written reply submitted to the House in response to various questions raised by members.