New Delhi: Welcoming CAQM’s decision on end-of-life (EOL) vehicles, environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said it was a big relief for thousands of citizens who were unfairly impacted. He said Delhi govt would file an appeal in National Green Tribunal and Supreme Court on the deregistration of petrol vehicles over 15 years and diesel ones over 10 years in National Capital Region.“I thank CAQM for acting swiftly on our concerns. Under the leadership of CM Rekha Guptaji, we stand with the people. Delhi will not tolerate selective and faulty enforcement,” he said. Sirsa added that restrictions should only be on polluting vehicles, not based on any age or end-of-life criteria. “Instead, if a vehicle causes pollution, it should be considered end-of-life. We will also work on this, appeal to our Supreme Court, approach NGT and present studies.” The minister said the govt would conduct an inquiry into the AAP-led govt scrapping 80,000 EOL vehicles. “We will investigate the 80,000 vehicles declared as end-of-life by AAP, which were dismantled without any verified or established scrappers being licensed in Delhi. We will look into who these vehicles were sold to and who were involved, and we will investigate the crores of rupees scam committed by AAP against the people of Delhi,” he said.In response, AAP alleged that BJP was colluding with car dealers, scrappers and vehicle registration agents. “If they’re not complicit, why haven’t they passed a law to revoke the vehicle ban? BJP govt’s inaction is proof of their collusion. CAQM’s order only postpones the ban—it doesn’t cancel it,” it stated.Earlier, leader of the opposition Atishi demanded that BJP-led govt bring a law on overage vehicles within a week to ease people’s woes and assured support to the dispensation. The former chief minister accused BJP of deceiving people. “BJP banned the vehicles without thinking about what would happen to the women and the elderly. When Delhiites opposed this, they started deceiving people. Environment minister Sirsa said he has written to CAQM demanding that the fuel ban be suspended,” she charged. “BJP must stop hiding behind approaching court theatrics. It should bring a law to protect old vehicles and safeguard the middle class. Be it through ordinance or by calling a special assembly session, BJP should address this issue. We will support them. If they want to do it through an ordinance, we are ready. If Delhi govt does not have the power, the Centre can do so by calling a Parliament session.”Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, however, said Atishi’s statement calling Delhi govt’s decision to approach Supreme Court a “drama” displayed her and AAP’s “anarchic mindset”.“For 10 years, neither Kejriwal govt nor Atishi made any attempt to seek judicial relief from NGT’s 2015 ban, which led to such a deteriorated situation that BJP govt had no choice but to comply with the related order,” he claimed. But within two days of the ban, BJP govt understood the people’s difficulties and suspended the ban, Sachdeva added. “I am fully confident that all mechanically fit vehicles will be granted relief by the judiciary.”
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