The Centre will request the Supreme Court (SC) to reconsider its decision to ban diesel taxis in the National Capital Region (NCR) in its next hearing on May 9, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Monday.
The Minister said the ban had caused an “unprecedented situation” in Delhi-NCR on Monday with alarming traffic woes, following protests by hundreds of cab drivers on NH-8 at the Delhi-Gurgaon border.
“We have received several complaints from commuters working in Gurgaon. There are law and order and conveyance issues,” Mr. Gadkari said, following a review meeting on the issue with Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar and Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister Anant Geete.
“This (ban) has resulted in immediate loss of jobs of thousands of people and also serious commuting problems to the working population,” said an informal note prepared following the inter-ministerial meeting. It added that a lot of establishments in Delhi-NCR, especially in IT and BPO sector, have later working hours and non-availability of safe transport poses safety and security threat.
Senior Road Ministry officials said the government will request the Apex Court to extend the deadline.
“We respect the Supreme Court. Not only Delhi, but we want a pollution-free India. Our government is serious and sensitive about tackling pollution. We have taken steps that have not been taken in last decade and will present an integrated approach to the court in our next hearing,” the Minister said.
Quoting an IIT-Kanpur study, the Minister said vehicular emission contributes nine per cent to pollution in summers and 19 per cent in winters. “It was observed in the meeting that initiatives taken in the last two years need to be properly presented before the Supreme Court. We will take it up before the SC in the next hearing and the government is considering taking all necessary steps to reduce pollution in Delhi,” Mr. Gadkari added.
The SC on Saturday had ordered that only taxis running on CNG will be allowed to ply in Delhi-NCR region from May 1. The court had earlier ordered diesel taxis operating in NCR to shift to CNG by March 1, 2016. However, the deadline was extended twice – first till March 31 and then till April 30.
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