AAP trade wing to discuss NGT ban of diesel vehicles

New Delhi: In a row to discuss the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) decision to ban diesel vehicles that are ten years or older, the trade wing of the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP)  is expected to hold a meeting at the Delhi Secretariat on Thursday afternoon. According to the reports, the meeting will be attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, transport Minister Satendar Jain and transport sector representatives. It is expected that both sides will come up with solutions that can pass the NGT's muster. On Monday, the NGT directed the Delhi Regional Transport Office (RTO) to de-register all diesel vehicles over 10 years old in the Delhi-NCR region. It ordered Delhi RTO to provide the list of deregistered vehicles to the traffic police in the Delhi-NCR region. In its order, the NGT said, ‘’AAP’s odd-even scheme had hardly improved the Delhi NCR region's air quality and the number of impounded old diesel vehicles have increased drastically. It is an accepted fact that diesel vehicles pollute more than other sources.’’ According to the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, the authority to de-register old vehicles falls under the regional transport department and not the NGT. Last week, the Supreme Court demanded that the Delhi government should share data on the number of diesel vehicles, older than 10 years, and petrol vehicles, older than 15 years, that were impounded by the RTO in the past one year. The Delhi government replied that the Delhi RTO has confiscated around 3,000 vehicles in the past one year.